Golden Skies
by KairifishRenettawolf
Summary: A girl named Pyra, daughter of Eraqus, goes on a quest to find Ven, Terra and Aqua. In the end, she does. Sort of.  But what happens along the way is a whole different story.  Starring Eraqus, Zack, Lea, Cloud, Vanitas, and more!
1. Prologue: Stars

Prologue – Stars

It seemed as if an eternity had passed since I last heard footsteps. Finally, I could die in peace. I didn't really want to die, but considering as I couldn't hear the drone of an approaching glider, I didn't really have much of a choice.

I opened my heavy eyelids. Night had fallen over the Keyblade Graveyard, the only light being the glow of the moon and stars. I smiled, Knowing that Zack was probably up there somewhere, waiting. And right beside him would be my father. And maybe even Terra.

I shifted slightly, groaning as my muscles and broken bones wailed in protest. I coughed, sending a trickle of blood out the corner of my mouth. It wouldn't be long now, before my cuts stopped hurting, my bones stopped screeching and my muscles stopped burning. I blinked once, and the blood trickling from the gash on my eyebrow and various cuts on my forehead seemed to chill.

Floating in front of me was a single, ghostly, glowing hand, clothed in a black leather glove.

"Time to go, huh?" A voice asked. Zack.

"Give it a minute," I choked, through gritted teeth. "The stars… They're so… Pretty…"

He stretched his fingers. "It's even more amazing from up here," he sighed.

I smiled sadly, gazing at the horizon one last time. There was one red star that seemed out of place, and it appeared to be rushing towards me, but otherwise, nothing out of the ordinary.

"I guess I'll have to come and see for myself, then…" I sighed, looking back at Zack's outstretched hand. I closed my eyes.

There was a familiar drone coming from off in the distance, but as much as I loved the thought of living, it could wait. I had better things to do than lie around in agony.

I wanted to see the stars.


	2. Chapter One: Stained Glass

Chapter One – Stained Glass

I chewed my final mouthful of lychee bread slowly and deliberately. I love lychee bread, we make it ourselves, a sweet, crusty roll, substituting any water in the normal recipe for bread with lychee juice. The flavour is so amazing, you'd have to eat it to understand why.

The comms unit in my ear crackled to life, then made a beeping noise. Stupid interference. I listened to the crackling beep for a while, before my father's voice cut through. "Agh, stupid interference!" He groaned.

"My thoughts exactly, Dad, my thoughts exactly. What's up?" I replied, putting my finger on the 'transmit' button.

"Are you done with lunch?"

"OH HELLS YEAH!" I smiled. "Why is it that every time I eat lychee bread, I love it even more~?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea why that is, but it's probably a good thing. Now, the climb."

"Ah, yes, of course, right down to business. 'Kay, rules. Lay 'em down."

"To join my other students, you must simply reach the ledge upon which they usually train. If you have trouble of any kind, call out for help. But don't fall, or you can't join the class."

"Noted. That's it?"

"That's it."

"Well," I smirked, "I guess with my climbing skills, I'm joining the class!"

"One more thing. If you feel like you're slipping-"

"Yes, Dad, use Magnet. I know. It'll help me get better at magic. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"And should you run into an enemy-"

"Use the Keyblade?"

"Yes."

"Not happening."

"Why not? You haven't turned to the darkness, have you?"

"Wha... No! It's just... Clunky and impractical."

"I hate that you see it that way."

"I know, but I have other weapons, and if they fail me, I always have martial arts. And my armour, Dad! It's freaking SERRATED! I can fend for myself without the Keyblade, so chillax!"

"Okay, fine. Let me know if you have any problems."

"I will." I took my finger off the button, and turned to face the vertical cliff face that towered before me. Well, excluding the few overhangs I had to get past. The first jutting out directly two feet above my head. I glared at it, as I always had in during practice, before stepping back a little way.

I then launched myself at the overhang, jumping as high as I could to get a hold I could grip properly. I grabbed at the rock face, catching two hand sized ledges, and swinging my feet just under the hang to catch two more ledges. I left my feet there, reaching up for the next few holds.

About two feet at a time, I made my way up the cliff face, jumping the overhangs until I reached the ledge I usually climbed to. The one with the tunnel that led to the ledge they trained on.

The tunnel had been sealed. Instead, there was a smooth rock face, before it reverted back to it's usual rockiness. Dad.

I put my finger to the transmit button once again. "You sealed my cave," I whined.

"It's supposed to be a challenge. You must CLIMB to the ledge," he sniggered, in his dad-ish way, "should be no problem for a climbing extraordinaire."

"Oh, shut up," I laughed, taking my finger off the button, and leaping at the wall, grabbing at a few visible holds. I liked improvisational climbing, gave me more time to enjoy the heights.

I looked up, gawking at the massive overhang. THAT was gonna require MAGIC.

… DAMN.

I shrugged the thought away, continuing my climb. I was thankful for my long, slender limbs. I was a physical clone of my mother, Katzia, luckily, not like my father in the slightest until it boiled down to personality. I was glad, 'cause my dad had very bulky muscles, and probably couldn't climb for shit.

I negotiated several holds, and then several more. Before I knew it, I had reached the overhang. It was even bigger up close.

... Yipes.

On the plus side, If I cleared it, I had only about two and a half metres to go before I reached the ledge. I could hear the tell-tale clang of Keyblades hitting against one another through the stone above my head.

I looked at the edge I needed to grab, which was about two metres away. I could clear that. I knew I could.

I brought my feet in as close to my hands as physically possible without losing my grip, then tightened my muscles. "Magnet," I whispered, feeling my hands and feet become about ten times grippier.

... I hated magic. So... Draining.

I tensed all of my muscles once more, then sprung at the overhang, temporarily releasing the magic. I managed to find a grip on the hang just before the magic faded away, and I was left mentally exhausted.

I flailed my feet about, trying to reach a grip I could use to push on while I reached for a better grip. I couldn't reach my feet high enough without risking a fall and pulling with my arms. And I was determined to join the class today, even if I had to rely on people I'd never met.

The clanging noise drew a little closer, so I decided to try my luck.

"Help," I called, looking up at the top of the wall that ran along the ledge, about two and a quarter metres above me. "I need a boost..."

"Was that a voice?" A female voice asked, surprised. The clanging of clashing weapons ceased.

"I heard it, too!" A slightly younger, male voice exclaimed.

"It was definitely something," another, older male voice stated.

"Hey, don't leave me hanging here?" I called, tightening my grip on the rock. "I just need a boost so I can reach the top."

I heard brisk footsteps approach the edge of the cliff, near where the little concrete fence was. I looked up again.

Staring down at me was a brown haired young man, who looked sort of familiar, with the bluest of blue eyes. He had broad shoulders, one of which was covered by a bronzey coloured armour piece. I knew this boy. Or rather, I'd had him described to me earlier, exactly like that.

Terra.

He turned to look at the people he was with. "Ven, I'm gonna need you to make sure I don't fall... Aqua, support him."

... He was going to help me. Awesome.

I heard two 'hms' of agreement, then Terra leaned down over the ledge, slowly descending until his face was about a metre and a half from mine. He extended his arms, then summoned a Keyblade of several different shades of bronze, and offered me the silvery-blue handle.

"How much of a boost do you need?" He asked.

"Not much," I replied, "just enough of a boost that I can get my feet onto something..."

"Grab on," he smirked, waggling the Keyblade around a little.

I pulled myself up a smidge, then grabbed the handle, avoiding falling to my doom by the most minute of measurements. "Got it," I grinned.

Terra twisted his head around a little. "Alright, guys," he called, gritting his teeth, probably looking at the blonde boy whose head had poked over the top of the wall. Ventus. "PULL!"

I realised that Ventus had Terra's ankles, because his face screwed up into a face not unlike one would make when under great strain. We started to rise slowly, until my feet were high enough to catch the rock. "Slow up a little," I called, moving my grip from the Keyblade to the cliff face. I watched as Terra un-summoned his keyblade, and waited to get far enough up the cliff face that he could pull his torso over the wall unaided. I scrambled the last metre or so, then pulled myself over the wall. I got to my feet.

"Thanks," I smiled, looking at the three who stood before me.

Terra was about a head and a quarter taller than me, making me feel small and dwarf like. He wore a black-blue shirt, with red ribbon-like thingies crossing over his chest. Around his waist, he wore a gold-coloured emblem of the Keyblade wielders, fastened to a large belt, and he wore beige pants, the kind that sort of billow around your legs. His left arm was partially covered all the way down by armour, coloured a reddish orange or browney bronze colour. I couldn't see his shoes, they were obscured from view by his pants.

Ventus was about my height with short, spiky blonde hair. He wore a black and white ensemble, and had black ribboney-things. At the crossover of these straps, he wore a silver emblem, and attached to his left shoulder was a strangely coloured armour plate with black and silver embellishments. He wore a pair of well armoured shoes on his feet, and was holding a brown and gold Keyblade in a backhanded manner. His eyes were also blue, but a darker blue than Terra's.

Finally, the young woman, who I could only label as Aqua. She had cobalt blue hair, that matched her also blue eyes. She wore a dark blue top with pink ribboney-things, joined at the crossover by the emblem, the same silver hue as Ventus'. The top had little bits that were not unlike the holes on sneakers, fastened by thin silver ribbon. Around her waist, several of what appeared to be scarves had been tied in a very artistic fashion, and I imagined that if she was running, they'd look like waves rippling across an ocean, considering as they were blue and white. She wore black short-shorts, and long black socks, and on her feet, a well armoured pair of silver and blue shoes. Also, down her arms, she wore what appeared to be long, armoured sleeves, and then gloves not unlike my own on her hands. In her hand, she held a Keyblade of blue, white and silver.

... They dressed with great detail, I'll give them that.

"So, you must be the three my dad told me about," I grinned. "I'm Pyra."

"Your dad?" Aqua asked, puzzled.

"Master Eraqus."

"He's your FATHER!" Aqua gasped. I looked at everyone's faces.

Great. They were making judgements.

"Uh, guys... I'm not him, you don't have to treat me any different than you would treat each other..." I raised my hands in protest. "Just act as if I'm an ordinary Keyblade wielder."

There was silence for a moment. Ventus unsummoned his Keyblade, and offered his hand for a shake. "I'm Ventus, but call me Ven."

"Okay, Ven," I smiled, shaking his hand. "As said before, I'm Pyra." I looked at the others. "Terra and Aqua, I presume?"

"That would be us. You're well informed," Aqua smirked.

"So what brings you up here?" Terra asked.

"Dad –sorry, Master Eraqus- thought it was time for me to join you guys. I'm not great with the Keyblade, I'm pretty average with it, so he thought that maybe if I was with other wielders my age, I might pick up on some of the skills faster," I explained. "Truth be told, I don't really like the Keyblade... You can't maneuver it as much as you could with an ordinary sword, not with the huge wrist guard thing in the way. It's too bulky."

"Once you learn the trick to handling the wrist guard properly, everything becomes easier," Terra grinned, "trust me."

"It's true," Ven smirked.

"I'll take your word for it then," I laughed.

"You any good at magic?" Aqua asked.

"At some spells, yes, but otherwise, OH HELL NO," I groaned, "It's so HARD!"

"What spells are you good at then?"

"I've got Fira and Thundara, and I'm okay at Magnet, Water, Aero and Cure, but otherwise I suck."

"Wait... You say you're no good, yet you have two second level spells?"

"I like fire. And lightning, 'cause it makes fire. Of course, my fire magic is the strongest."

"If you like fire so much, why'd you learn a water spell?" Terra asked. "It just seems a little stupid to me."

"It may seem stupid, but it comes in handy if you accidentally burn something you didn't mean to. Fire is the reason I wear gloves. I'll leave it at that."

"Got burned?"

I scratched at the armour that covered my left arm, almost as if I wasn't wearing it at all. "Yeah, just a bit... It was NOT pleasant. That's why water skills are necessary for any user of fire magic." I thought back to the incident about a year and a half earlier. I shuddered, before pulling my arm-armour up a little.

Aqua looked at me weirdly. "Also... Can you fight without a Keyblade? You say you're bad at using it, but what about other fighting skills?"

"Let's see... I have scimitars, serrated armour, and a variety of other weapons that I can use but can't summon as yet, and I know mixed martial arts. My father taught me everything I know," I stated. "The only thing I can't fight with besides the Keyblade is my Keyblade's glider form. Which is, essentially, still my Keyblade. Still too bulky for my likings..."

"JESUS, how long have you been TRAINING!" Terra exclaimed.

"About nine years... Since my mum died, I suppose." I smiled, thinking of my mother. She would have been completely against this whole thing, me joining the class and all.

"Oh... I'm so sorry, you 'right?" Terra frowned, stepping forward a little.

"Actually, I'm fine. I just... She'd have been whole-heartedly against me training in the combat arts and Keyblade wielding and such, and yet I'm here... It's weird..."

"Show us something with the scimitars!" Ven grinned, changing the subject suddenly. His eyes lit up brightly.

"What do you want me to show you?" I smirked, summoning my scimitars, one red with gold embellishments, and one gold with red embellishments. Very fitting of the magic my father had imbued them with.

"ANYTHING!" He smiled, excited.

"Maybe put a little magic into the mix," Aqua suggested.

"Okay... Wait a minute..." I paused. "... I'm gonna need something to work with here... Something or someone to fight against."

"If you need a person to fight, then I'll fight you," Ven grinned. "I mean, I could use the experience. You sound like you're a well seasoned fighter."

"I'm anything BUT seasoned... If you want seasoned, fight my uncle. But thanks for volunteering."

"No problem~!" He smiled, summoning his Keyblade. "Don't hold back!"

"You either!" I grinned, ready to strike.

"Wait a minute..." Terra interrupted, "Why don't we move this to the main hall? There's more room... This ledge isn't actually as big as that hall is..."

"The main hall is bigger than this ledge!" I exclaimed, exasperated.

"A little bit..." He grinned, turning to walk away. "Come on, it's this way."

"... Okay then..." I smiled, a little dazed. I was going to see the main entrance hall. With the stained glass window that Dad had taken a photo of for me. I unsummoned my scimitars and followed Terra, as did the others.

...

"WHOOOOAAAA," I exclaimed, "IT'S SO BIG! THIS IS AMAZING!" I cried, spinning around, admiring the incredible architecture. The light filtering in through the window lit the entire hall in a blaze of coloured light, and the way the hall itself was shaped was obviously designed to catch the light, as there were no dark corners anywhere.

"Impressive, huh?" Aqua smirked.

"NO SHIT!" I grinned. My face felt like a plate, my smile was that big.

"Hey, guys," Terra interrupted, "don't forget what we came here for."

"Course not," I said quickly, turning to face Ven. I summoned my scimitars, jogging backwards to one end of the hall. I took a battle stance, my grin turning slightly evil. "You ready?" I asked, cocking my head to one side.

Ven summoned his Keyblade, as the others stepped back a little way. He moved back to a spot mirroring my own at the opposite end of the room. "As I said before," he began, taking a battle stance, "don't hold back!"

I heard a murmur from Aqua and Terra's direction, something about a scary grin. I chuckled. "Never!" I exclaimed, leaping forwards.

The first thing I noticed was that Ven was fast. He lunged at me almost as quickly as I'd leapt at him.

He took a swipe with his Keyblade, so I knew I had only a little time to work with. I slammed both of my feet into the ground, before leaping about two times my height directly up. I brought my scimitars together quickly, and concentrated hard on my magic flow. I blinked once, then the evil smile came back. "THUNDARA!" I hollered, a bright bolt of electrical energy erupting from the tips of my scimitars, hitting Ven square in the back.

"GAAAH!" Ven cried, falling to the ground, paralysed. I landed in a neat crouch behind where he fell, then whirled around, rushing him, scimitars held either side of my body. "FIRA!" I yelled, my scimitars catching alight as I ran.

Ven stood up, and turned to face me, just a little too late to counter. I stabbed forwards, catching the edge of his armour (just to be nice) with one of my flaming scimitars. I used the catch to vault over him, shaving about three millimetres off of the top of his hair with the other scimitar as I went.

As I landed, the fire around my scimitars faded, so I decided it'd be safe to catch a join on his torso armour and flip him over my shoulder. Which is just what I did.

I sent him flying across the room, where he crashed against a large, throne-like chair (which appeared to be bolted to the floor) at full force, upside down. He slid down the chair, off of the seat part, and onto the floor, groaning a little as he skidded along the ground on his back. I walked over to him, placing a foot gently against his armoured shoulder. "Seen enough?" I asked, un-summoning my scimitars.

"You could have told me how fast you were!" He panted, a smirk playing across his lips.

"You never asked," I smiled.

There was a moment of silence, before Aqua cleared her throat. "Uh... Wow. You're good."

"Thanks," I grinned, helping Ven get up.

"Makes me wonder how you'd do with a Keyblade," Terra suggested.

"Probably crap, compared to that..." I admitted. I looked at Ven. "You hurt?"

"Hm? Nah, I'm good. Just a little sore," he nodded, un-summoning his Keyblade, and rolling off of his back into a seated position. He prodded gently at his ankle, before wincing a little. I looked at him sceptically. He looked up, then turned his attention back to his ankle. "Okay, maybe I am a little hurt… But I can fix it…" he mumbled, holding his hand over his ankle. "Cure!" he exclaimed, a green light radiating from his hand.

Once the glow faded, he wriggled his foot around a little, then stood up, apparently unharmed.

Gotta love healing magic, as mentally straining it is. Oh, god, how much worse my scars would be without it…

"Now… How about you show me what you can do with your Keyblade?" He grinned, looking at me, then at the others, before looking back at me again.

"I... Ah..." I stammered, "I'd, um... I'd really rather not..."

"Would you do it if I asked reeeeeally nicely?"

I looked from Ven to Terra and Aqua. They were nodding, eyebrows raised.

... Damn. Didn't look like I could get out of this one.

"Fine," I sighed, summoning my Keyblade. Have I mentioned what it looked like already? No? Well it looked like fire and lightning threw up and the upchuck had a child. Admittedly, for the child of vomit, it looks AWESOME. Flames for the wrist guard and key mechanism part, and lightning for the beam bit that joins the handle and wrist guard to the mechanism part.

In short, it's sexy. For a Keyblade, anyway.

"Don't expect me to do anything fancy," I sighed, walking over to where I took my stance last time, at the end where I could bathe in the light of the window. I took a stance, corrected myself for any imbalances, then looked up to face Ven, who had done the same.

"I won't, then," He smirked. He looked at Aqua and Terra. "Start us off?"

Aqua smirked. "Sure," she smiled, "ready?"

I grimaced.

"FIGHT!" She yelled. Ven leapt forwards, Keyblade raised high. I did the same, gritting my teeth.

He swung his Keyblade at my armoured arm, and I went to parry. I did okay, but I couldn't help but knock my Keyblade against my wrist.

That could cost me.

I countered with as swift a blow as I could manage, before flipping backwards, sort of like a dodge roll, but in mid air. I decided to mix in a little magic, improve my chances a bit. "THUNDARA!" I hollered, pointing my Keyblade into the air above my head. Lightning struck down randomly around me, preventing Ven from getting too close while I reviewed my battle plan.

Melee... Probably wouldn't work, considering my wrist guard managing skill.

Magic... Wouldn't last me forever.

Blocking and dodging... I couldn't do that for the whole battle, I'd get bored. As would Ven.

So I would have to mix it up a bit.

... Honestly, even just attacking endlessly sounded simpler. With Scimitars, I could picture every move. But with a Keyblade... Yeah, no.

I waited until moments before the lighting ceased to make my move. I dove to one side. "FIRA!" I screamed, pointing my Keyblade at Ven as a large ball of fire erupted from the end. I rolled into a crouch, then threw my Keyblade at him in a move my dad called a 'Strike Raid', hoping it would connect.

I watched helplessly as he dodged both the magic and the thrown blade. And was now headed straight for me. I was thankful that Strike Raid was the kind of attack where the Keyblade came back. Cause I was going to need it.

Before it did, however, Ven got me in a headlock, Keyblade pressed against my neck. "Nice Strike Raid," he complimented, "well executed."

I watched as my Keyblade flew past me, handle smacking Ven in the side of the head. An accident I would happily take credit for. "You think so?" I laughed, "cause I TOTALLY meant for that to happen!"

Ven rubbed his cheek as my Keyblade disappeared, un-summoning his own, releasing me from the headlock. "Really? I would never have guessed!" He laughed sarcastically, smiling.

"It was a nice fluke, huh?"

"Yeah. Good fluke there."

"That's actually not as bad as you made it seem, you know," Aqua stated.

"I was crap," I laughed a little, raising an eyebrow.

"You executed a Strike Raid."

"It missed!"

"But then hit home when it returned," Terra laughed.

"You're telling me," Ven smirked, "I mean, you really have a good throwing arm!"

"You think?" I asked, pausing. "... Yeah, I suppose... I mean, I have played baseball for a few years... I was always better at batting, but I've always been told I'm a good pitcher."

There was an awkward pause. "So... You play baseball?" Terra asked. He looked a little sneaky. "Who for?"

"The Westside Orions. Why...?"

He shook his head, a smirk playing across his face. "We may have met before, on the field. I used to play for the North End Hornets," he claimed, looking up slightly, a sly grin spreading across his face. "I was their best batter, I never struck out."

... I thought he looked familiar. "So YOU were that guy whose hits I almost never caught!" I laughed. "I think I may have caught one, but that would probably be it..."

"I gotta say, I only remember one person on your team ever catching any of my hits. But they had a long black braid..."

I heard Ven mumbling to Aqua. "Wait," he began, "Terra played baseball?"

"Against Pyra, apparently," Aqua smirked.

I looked back at Terra. "How long ago was it that you got caught out by the braid person?" I smirked, knowing exactly when it was.

"About-"

"Three and a half years ago?" I finished.

"... Yeah..." He looked a little confused.

"That was me!" I laughed, diving into a catching pose, then skidding across the floor. "I knew I caught one of your hits!

Note to self... Don't do that in a halter top. Never again. 'Cause it hurt.

"You!" he looked surprised. "You had hair that long! It was almost three quarters of the way down your back!"

I looked at Aqua. She looked shocked. "Do you have a photo!" She asked, exasperated.

I opened the pouch I had strapped to my belt. I rummaged around in there for my wallet, opened it, and showed her the photo in the ID window. Me, when I was twelve. Me, when I had long, butt-length hair.

Me, before I learned my fire magic.

"So it WAS you..." Terra smirked. "Nice catch."

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Damn, your hair was long!" Ven laughed.

"Why'd you cut it!" Aqua asked, exasperated.

"It's a long story," I sighed, smile beginning to waver, "it involves magic training."

"Will you tell us? Pleeeease?" Ven asked, eyes widening.

_Don't look at his eyes_, I thought to myself, _don't look... _

I took a glance at Ven. He was making puppy dog eyes.

Damn it. Now I'd HAVE to tell them abou-

"So," came a voice from the door, which could only be my father. Saved. "I see you've met the others, Pyra. How're you settling in?"

"Brilliantly. I expect you came up here to see my Keyblade in action?" I joked.

"Yes, amongst other things," he sighed, "but I knew that it wasn't one-hundred percent likely, so..."

"Dad," I began, "I did have a few battles with Ven here. Not sure what the overall verdict was, but... I used the Keyblade. Once. So please, stop worrying."

"Oh! Well then, good job," He congratulated. "Now, onto other matters," he pressed on, turning to Aqua and Terra, "Don't forget, your Mark of Mastery exams are tomorrow. You two should be prepared."

"Yes, master," Aqua and Terra nodded.

Note to self: act more formal to my father around these guys.

"We shall have a special guest overseeing the exams tomorrow, so make sure to keep to your best behaviour. Otherwise, go about your ways as you usually would." He turned to me once more. "And Pyra?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome to Kingdom Hall."


	3. Chapter Two: Into the Chaos

Chapter Two – Into The Chaos

I stood on top of the cliff, watching the horizon for arrivals. My father had stuck me on sentry duty while the others trained for the exam. Not that I didn't like sentry duty, I actually sorta liked it. It just bothered me that I couldn't get any stronger doing it.

"Pyra," a voice crackled behind me, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling, "you need to train your ears as well as your eyes."

I spun on my heels. My uncle stood in front of me, his yellow-orange eyes gleaming in the sunlight. "Master Xehanort," I began, "you really have to stop sneaking up on people."

"Fair point," he agreed. He started walking towards the academy. "How's that scar of yours?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, it's just a little more sensitive there," I sighed, following him. "I still wish it never happened."

"At least you're alive," he smirked.

"I suppose," I agreed. "So, what's it like?" I asked, changing the subject.

"What's what like?" He spoke in a monotone. Irritated?

"The universe. Other worlds. What's it like being able to explore?"

"Oh. Well, it's certainly interesting. You learn... more... than you could just staying in one world your whole life."

... Okay, I'm not sure if I was just over-thinking it, but that sentence sounded like it had a hidden meaning.

"I'd love to just... get out of here one day... see other worlds," I mused, "maybe train a little along the way. Figure out how to work the Keyblade to my likings."

I looked at my uncle, whose face was slowly spreading into an evil grin. "I think that can be arranged," he stated, looking me right in the eye. "Maybe you could accompany me in my travels."

"Really!" I asked, excited. "You could get my dad to agree!"

"He married my sister, I could probably get him to let you go."

I thought of my mother. She would have never agreed to this. Never. She'd have made me wait until I was about seventeen or something. If Uncle Xehanort tried to use my mother as persuasive power... My father would definitely disagree.

"I don't think it would work, though..." I sighed. "I'd need to be overly amazing with the Keyblade before he let me go," I realised, saying my thoughts aloud.

"I'll see what I can do after the exam. Until then, you may train or do something productive that may make your father more supportive of you seeing the worlds," he suggested. I looked up: we had reached the academy.

"Okay. Thankyou, Master," I laughed, "I hope you enjoy your time in The Land of Departure!"

"Oh, I will..." He smirked evilly, heading up the stairs.

Now, I don't know what you're thinking, but something was definitely up with him. He seemed... more cunning than usual. Darker. And he was usually pretty dark.

I shrugged the thought away, trying to push it out of my head as I crept silently into the academy. I HAD to see the exam. Earlier, I'd only wanted to see it to see Aqua and Terra in action, and to see how the exam worked. Now, I was also curious to see what Xehanort had planned.

I crouched down in the stairwell, looking through two rails. Terra and Aqua stood facing where Xehanort sat and my father stood. My father was adressing them, as Ven watched eagerly.

My father conjured several magical orbs that Terra and Aqua were to attack.

The first task. Okay.

Then the orbs turned dark. I flicked my eyes to Xehanort, curious. He was flexing his hand around, with a VERY sinister smirk on his aging face.

So he WAS planning something.

I watched as Aqua and Terra dived into action, Ven joining in for the sake of his safety. I prepared to vault over the banister to help, when a cold voice echoed out from behind me.

"You aren't supposed to be here," the voice stated simply in a dark monotone, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling for the second time in an hour. "Why don't you just be a good girl and go back to where you belong?"

I spun around. Before me stood a boy slightly taller than myself, wearing a black and red bodysuit with matching boots and a butt cape, and a black and silver mask covered his face. He tilted his head to one side slightly. He looked similar to those masked murderers you see in thriller movies, but with more interesting clothes.

"You're one to talk," I began, "'cause you shouldn't be here either."

"No one asked you, _idiot_," he growled, summoning...

Of all things. A guy who looked like he'd come straight out of a thriller had a freaking KEYBLADE.

... Crap.

I summoned my scimitars, just as the guy in the mask spoke up once more. "I suppose we don't _need _you, so I can just annihilate you here and now." He appeared to spare a glance at my blades. "Ooh, the prey's gonna put up a fight."

"Yeah," I growled, a sadistic smirk twitching at the edges of my lips, "and 'the prey' is gonna WIN."

I lunged at the boy, slashing at him with my scimitars. He was about the same speed as Ven (a.k.a. pretty fast), if not faster. Almost my speed. I had top trumps, but only just.

I aimed a quick swipe at his ribcage. He dodged out of the way a split second before it hit, then attempted a counter, which _I _dodged a split second before contact. It was then that I realised this fight would have no winner, unless one of us made a terrible flaw or gave up. We were too well matched.

...Unless he didn't know how to control flames.

I took a chance, leaping into the air (as we finally reached the flat area where the stairs either side of the hall turned around and converged into one), and aiming the tips of both of my scimitars at him. "FIRA!" I yelled, a large ball of fire erupting from the ends of the blades. He tried to block with his Keyblade, but to no effect. He was knocked over backwards.

I landed in a crouch, moving quickly behind him. As he stood up, I trapped him in a headlock, pressing the serrated edge of my armour against his neck. "Who _are_ you?" I hissed, slowly tightening my choke.

It was then that he vanished, and reappeared behind me, trapping _me _in a headlock, Keyblade pressed to _my _throat.

"If only it were you we needed instead of that loser, Ventus," he mused grimly, "It would make things _so _much easier."

"Ventus?" I thought aloud, confused.

"Pity I'm gonna _kill_ you before I've the chance to explain," he growled, pressing his Keyblade closer to my neck.

"Oh, no you don't," I hissed, taking one of my scimitars into the other hand and grabbing his wrist. "THUNDARA!"

I felt the magic course through my arm, and out through my palm, sending a shock into the masked boy's Keyblade arm.

"GAH!" he gasped, loosening his hold on me for a split second. Which, with me, is a split second too long.

I swiftly squirmed free of his headlock, taking the second scimitar I held in my left, armoured hand back into my right, and performing a lightning-fast reversal. I slashed at the boy's back, scoring a large gash in his bodysuit, and a mere scrape along his skin. The suit then began repairing itself, though the same could not be said for his back. Still...

What _WAS _that suit made of!

He staggered a little, before standing up straight, and pointed his Keyblade at the roof. I heard a mumble, and a MASSIVE fireball appeared at the tip of his blade. Not just a normal fireball, however, noooo, instead, this one was purple, dark blue, and black. In other words, it was practically _bleeding_ darkness.

I rolled backwards, preparing for whatever the boy planned to do with said fireball of darkness. Ready to dodge like mad – check. Ready to attempt barrier magic – not really, but I'd try if I had to. Ready to give up...

Never.

The fireball exploded just as I heard a clang from where Terra and Aqua were being examined, and I remembered them actually telling me what the second part of the exam was. They had to fight each other.

I hoped that my fighting down here wasn't disrupting the flow of things up there...

I weaved between the exploded bits of the dark fireball as they fell, making sure not to touch any until I reached the boy.

But... He was expecting me to be there, and slammed his Keyblade down on the top of my armour. I gasped as it slipped down my arm, forcing my scimitar out of my hand. I quickly fought back with a snap kick to the neck, before rushing to pick up my armour before he saw what it was covering up.

I was just that little bit too slow.

"Oh, so you're a _cripple_," he laughed evilly, straightening up again. "I didn't know cripples could _fight_."

"Well, _I_ didn't know _cowards_ hiding behind _masks_ could _talk_," I snarled, pulling my armour back on and picking up my scimitar. "But hey, YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY!"

Once again, I lunged at the boy, slicing my blades through the air towards him. And, for once in this entire, increasingly irritating battle, a majority of my blows actually connected, and the boy fell limply to the ground as I flipped away.

I landed in a crouch, and waited a moment for him to move, stand up, just as he had before. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Had I... Killed him?

I slowly stood up, and un-summoned my scimitars. I walked over to the boy, half expecting him to move. Nothing. I crouched down, and reached to take off his mask.

His arm snapped up, and his hand closed tightly around my wrist as he started to laugh maniacally. I jumped back, freeing my wrist, as he slowly stood to his feet AGAIN. "That was _too_ fun," he chuckled evilly, "it might just pay to keep you around."

"I'll re-phrase my earlier question," I hissed, panting slightly, "_WHAT_ the _HELL_ are you!" I paused a moment. "And why do you need Ven?"

"As if I'd tell you. Maybe one day you'll know, when you're _smarter_." He stepped backwards, creating a freaking _PORTAL_ behind him. He stepped into said portal, and tilted his head to the side. "I'm sure we'll meet again... though, next time, I'll _kill_ you," he stated, as he vanished into the darkness.

"Damn it!" I cursed, falling to my knees, still panting a bit. I noted that the graze on my arm wouldn't heal itself, so I pulled my armour off.

That skin was never going to look any better, graze or not.

"Cure," I mumbled, holding my hand a little way above the long, stinging graze. I watched as the skin repaired itself in the green glow emitted from my hand, still amused by just how awesome healing magic was. My third favourite kind of light-based skill. Pity I didn't use light-based skills much. Hell, one of them was forbidden until I needed to use it.

I looked at my now un-grazed arm.

I was right, it didn't look any better. Stupid scars. Stupid wind changing, even. Without that happening, I would have a perfectly normal looking arm. Take it from me, never use fire magic to make a flamethrower if you're going to accidentally point it INTO the wind. 'Cause scars are GAY.

Okay, so, here's what happened, 'cause you're probably dying to know: I was training outside when I was fourteen, practising my fire magic, making a flamethrower with it. I was aiming it over the edge of this cliff, when there was a sudden gust of wind, coming straight at me and my flames. There hadn't been any wind beforehand, so I forgot to react. My arm pretty much caught fire, not so much my fingers and palms, they were used to the fire magic, but my arm. On fire.

It hurt like hell. Seriously, if you had your arm chopped off, it might hurt a _little_ less. You'd only be able to feel it at the shoulder, your arm itself wouldn't feel anything, 'cause it would be on the floor.

Think of how your shoulder would bleed and sting and feel reaaaally painful. Now times that pain by about three. And put it all over your arm.

There was screaming. Trust me, I don't scream often, but when I do, I'm a freaking _banshee_. By the time I was able to stop howling in pain and cast Water on my arm, there were second degree burns from the back of my hand to the top of my shoulder. Hell, there was even a little splodge of a second degree burn on my neck from where my then-butt-length hair caught fire.

The water helped the pain a little, and put out the flames, but it was still agonizing. I managed to hobble my way painfully to where my dad was talking to Xehanort, who was visiting for some odd reason, and tell him what happened. My dad healed me, fixed me up, but the scarring was unavoidable. Now... Well. I've been called a cripple. That's why my armour covers my _entire_ arm. So nobody sees it. So nobody fusses over it. I've also made sure to keep my hair razor short, about two inches long at the most, so as to avoid accidentally burning my hair again. I still have a fringe, but it never passes my lower lip in length.

Anyway, what with my graze being all healed, I pulled my armour back on, and crept back up the stairs to see what was going on. Aqua and Ven were talking to Terra about something. The exam was over then. Next I knew, Terra was walking towards the stairs. I scurried to pretend I'd just been walking up to learn the verdict as he turned to walk down said stairs.

He looked... disappointed.

"Hey," I began, "How'd it go?"

He kept walking until he was just past me, where he paused. "Aqua passed. I failed. I couldn't suppress the darkness inside me," he stated in a blank, disappointed monotone. "I don't know where the darkness came from, or why it escaped during the second part of the exam, but... I'm going to fight it. And I'm going to win."

He continued walking as I took in what he said. Darkness...?

The second part of the exam...?

The dark fireball that guy cast... Was it reacting with the natural darkness in Terra? Maybe Terra had more darkness than Aqua to begin with, and hence the fireball reacted with Terra's darkness but nobody elses?

... It was my fault...? If I hadn't been there... I wouldn't have fought with that guy in the mask... He wouldn't have cast that dark fireball, it wouldn't have exploded... and Terra would have his Mark of Mastery.

Maybe I was over thinking things, but I could have been right. It might have just been that fireball that set it off. In which case, it was my fault. But it could have also just been Terra... Which made no sense, 'cause he didn't seem like the dark type to me.

I put the thoughts to the back of my mind, hoping neither option was the right answer, and made my way to the top of the stairs to talk to Aqua and Ven. I passed Xehanort on my way, and he was grinning in the most sadistic way...

"Master," I nodded, acknowledging him as I passed.

"Pyra," he nodded, continuing on his merry way. I watched him for a moment, before continuing towards Aqua and Ven.

"Hey, guys," I greeted, before looking at Aqua. "_So_, Master _Aqua_. Should I be worried?" I laughed.

"Maybe, I don't know," she shrugged, looking at the stairs, "Terra, though... Him, you may want to worry about."

"He doesn't seem like a dark person, I'm sure it was just a once off," I suggested.

"I sure hope so..." Ven sighed. "I'm going to go to my room, read a book or something, maybe study some technique, catch ya' later, guys!" He exclaimed, moving off towards the east wing of the academy. Lucky. Soon I'd have a room up here, too, once I convinced my younger brother, Drake, that the could manage on his own.

"See ya'," I smirked, looking back to Aqua. She looked a little phased, but otherwise fine. "You alright?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, just a little concerned," she stated. "Terra looked so... disappointed."

"I'm sure he'll be okay, you can always have a second shot at the Mark, you know."

"What if he does something stupid?"

"Has he ever done anything stupid in the time you've known him?"

"Not a whole lot. Just practical jokes, when we were a little younger. When we started training together, I think. Before Xehanort brought Ven here. Ven used to be his pupil, you know."

I almost shat my pants. Ven? Xehanort? Ven, who pretty much gleamed like a lighthouse, as far as light goes? Xehanort, who was darker than a dark ray of darkness? Master and pupil?

... WHAT THE _FUCK_!

"Um, Xehanort was Ven's _Master_?" I choked, extremely taken aback.

"Yes. Ven came here about a year ago, with no memories but his name. Something happened to him while they were training, apparently," she stated. "Don't tell Ven, please... He doesn't know. He can't remember any of it."

"But _Xehanort_. _Master_. _VEN_! Ven is like a freaking STAR compared to Xehanort's black hole! Xehanort is _incredibly_ dark, trust me, I'd know. How did _HE_ wind up training _VEN_!"

"Not a clue! I wonder myself, really, I do. But I don't know."

I smirked, a stupid idea jumping into my mind. "But you're a _Keyblade Master_," I began, a mischievous tone to my voice, "_SURELY_ that means you should be given the right to this knowledge?"

She sighed sadly. "I'm not sure I want to know," she began, "I mean, what if I found out, and someone used the information against me in order to hurt Ven? I don't want that."

I thought about her answer. She had a good point: I wouldn't want anyone hurt just because I knew something I shouldn't. It wouldn't be right.

"Fair enough," I mused, turning slightly towards the stairs. "Anyway, I'll catch ya' later, 'kay?"

"Okay," she nodded, stretching her arms.

I went to turn completely towards the stairs to find myself face to face with my father. "Oh, um, Dad, I mean, Master, um..." I stammered. I still wasn't used to calling him Master. I bowed awkwardly, apologetic. "Sorry... Still not used to it..."

"Don't worry," He smiled, gripping my shoulders lightly, straightening me up, "you'll get used to it soon."

"I know," I nodded. "So... Anything new?"

"I was just going to talk to Aqua concerning her new rank. I was going to ask if yo-"

"Could leave the room?" I interrupted.

"Yes. Does that bother you?"

"Hm? Nah, I was just about to go outside anyway."

"Okay then. If you see Drake, tell him I might be home early from the Academy today, can I trust you to do that?"

My father smiled at me. I smiled back. He never came home from 'work' early. Ever.

Drake was gonna be pleased.

I nodded once, before bowing slightly, and heading towards the stairs. I started down the first flight of stairs before hearing voices from around the corner. Xehanort...

And the masked boy.

"We have to keep up appearances," Xehanort mumbled, as I pressed myself to the wall, a few feet from the open area where the stairs turned and converged.

"He just needs a little... Incentive to leave home," the boy jeered.

"... Fine. But don't call any unwanted attention to yourself." I heard a sigh, before Xehanort spoke up once more. "By the way... What do you make of my niece, Pyra?"

I smirked. This oughtta be good.

"Hm? That _cripple_? She's tough. Doesn't seem like the type to take anyone else's crap."

"Two of her best qualities."

"If only it were her we needed instead," the boy chuckled evilly, "We would have had the _X_-Blade about an hour ago."

... _X_-Blade?

"She isn't pure light, Vanitas. That is where she is flawed. We cannot use her for our needs. Plus, she is _female_, not male, like you. If the two of you were to combine to forge the _X_-Blade, God knows what would result," Xehanort informed.

I had problems with what Xehanort was saying. I wasn't pure light, and I knew that, but why would they need someone pure?

Also... Combine? Was that supposed to have some dirty meaning?

... Eeewww...

But I did learn one thing. The boy's name was Vanitas.

"Still," Vanitas mused, "it would be a lot easier. Even if we just had her on our team-"

"You think like a dictator, Vanitas. But no. My brother-in-law raised her, and, that being said, she probably wouldn't be able to be converted to the darkness. Knowing how stubborn she is, what with her 'not taking anyone's crap', she would probably die before joining the dark side."

Pfft, got that righ- Wait, stubborn! Why I oughtta...

"So... We kill her?"

"Why so bloodthirsty, child?"

"I don't know, maybe because I'm _pure darkness._"

... Whoa, wait a minute, _WHAT_!

... Was that supposed to correspond with the whole 'combine' and 'pure light' thing?

"Look, if she gets in the way of the plan, dispose of her, if not, leave her be. Whether she chooses to be collateral damage or not is up to her. Understood?"

Vanitas hesitated. "... Yes, Master."

Collateral damage, huh?

... So... People were going to die?

... Made me wish I'd taken the window.

I took a step towards the area Vanitas and I had fought in earlier, before I heard a 'shh'. I listened for the noise again, taking another step.

"Someone is coming, go, quickly," Xehanort instructed. I heard a 'whoosh', before a set of footsteps tickety-tapped their way down the stairs and out the door. I peeked around the corner to see the door swing shut, nobody in sight. Slightly concerned with the fact that Vanitas had zapped himself away, I sprinted back up the stairs, round the corner and out into the east wing of the Academy.

I whizzed down the corridor until I found the room that my father had said was to be mine, which was yet to be filled with any of my belongings. I wandered over to the open window (which was letting in a sweet, honey-scented breeze from the north), and peered out over the ledge. I was about fifty metres above the nearest flat patch of ground.

I could land that, piece of cake.

I climbed onto the ledge, positioning myself in a crouch. As usual, I'd have to be accurate. If I misjudged my timing by half a second, I could end up killing myself. A sly smile spread across my face as the risks processed themselves in my mind.

Brilliant.

I dove off of the ledge, both arms splitting the air in front of me, creating a slight slipstream. I'd need those arms. How else would I land without hurting myself?

I was content with my freefall for a moment, the sensation not unlike riding shotgun on a glider, before deciding it was time to prep my landing. I stretched my fingers tentatively. "AERO!" I commanded, a small, yet powerful whirlwind appearing beneath me. I shot into the spinning wall of air just right of the eye, stretched out my limbs so as to slow myself, then whizzed out of the mini cyclone into a roll, before slowly tumbling to a halt.

I sat up dizzily, and shook my head about. I _LOVED _doing that.

I stood to my feet, and looked up. I was now underneath the Academy, and just to the north of the spiralling staircase that led back up to the courtyard in front of the large, seemingly floating building. I was still nowhere near the base of the mountains the Academy was chained to - I was still above cloud level – but I was nearing the entrance to the in-mountain cave system that everyone lived in.

I could pass the news along to Drake about Dad being home early.

I thought about it, then remembered I had things to do. Not necessarily better than bringing good news to my eleven-year-old brother, but I needed a little time to process everything Xehanort had said today. Not just what I'd overheard, but what he'd told me, as well.

Maybe what Vanitas had said, too. And possibly Aqua.

I heard a bell toll as I jogged over to the ledge nearest the pillar-like mountain (the one with the stairs), and leapt across the gap as best I could. Again stopping my fall with Aero magic, I continued my run (down the stairs, over a bridge, then up a mountain path) until I passed a ledge covered in training rings and reached the ledge I'd met Terra, Ven and Aqua on. I climbed to the top of the ruins there, and sat down, letting my thoughts sort themselves out.

Xehanort had offered to help me leave. Okay.

Vanitas was talking about needing Ven for something.

Aqua told me Ven was formerly Xehanort's student, then something happened to him, and he joined in with her and Terra.

Vanitas said something about a 'he' needing incentive to leave. And then something about needing Ven again.

Xehanort said something about me not being pure light, hence their 'secret master plan', as I liked to call it, would not work with me. Did that mean Ven was _completely_ devoid of darkness?

And then... something about combining... And Vanitas being pure darkness, devoid of light...

Could all these pieces... possibly fit together somehow?

I pushed the thoghts to the back of my mind as I looked out at the horizon. I cast my eyes on the Academy, though they soon wandered to the courtyard. There seemed to be some form of commotion, and Terra was fully armoured. He pointed his Keyblade at the sky, then threw it out behind him, forming a glider. He leapt onto said glider, mounting it like a bike, then shot off into the sky, disappearing from sight like a rocket.

I watched in shock as Ven activated his armour and summoned his own glider. Aqua and my father came rushing down the stairs to the courtyard just as Ven took off into the skies as if he were riding a skateboard. Aqua and my father seemed to exchange words, before Aqua performed the routine, also shooting off into the atmosphere.

I leapt down from my perch and raced back towards the Academy, hoping with all of my heart that my new friends hadn't left for good. I didn't take too long, and skidded to a halt in the courtyard to see my father seated on the staircase, looking slightly miserable.

"What happened! Why did they leave?" I asked, panting heavily from my running all the way from the ledge, and consequently all the way up the stairs.

"I recieved news from Yen Sid about a new threat to the worlds," he began, "and chose to send Aqua and Terra to sort things out, as well as find Master Xehanort, who went missing about half an hour ago. Knowing him, he could be anywhere by now.

"I told Terra that this would be a chance to redeem himself and earn the Mark, and he smiled and went off immediately. I told Aqua to keep an eye on him as he travelled, to make sure the darkness couldn't take a hold on him, vaguely noticing something dash across the hall as I gave her her instructions. We ventured outside to find that Terra had just taken off, and Ventus had decided to follow him. I couldn't let Ventus leave, no matter what, but it was too late; he had already taken off. I got Aqua to chase him down, bring him home. She left, and now all three are probably wandering the Lanes Between." He looked to the sky, a somewhat quizzical expression crossing his face.

"And now I've got nobody to train with," I sighed, "_AGAIN_."

"You'll always have me and your brother, Pyra," he smiled, "and don't worry. Aqua will bring Ven back, then finish the mission with Terra, and we can all go back to how things were yesterday."

"I sure hope so..." I mused. I thought of ways to make time pass more quickly; if you stay in one place too long, running out of new things to do, it passes real slow.

And then it hit me.

"Hey, Dad," I began, trotting back over to the stairway, "I'm gonna go let Drake know about you possibly being home early, so..."

"Go. He'll be pleased to see you."

"Okay, see you soon," I smiled, turning down the stairs. I let a wicked grin spread across my face.

You really think I was gonna sit around here, doing practically nothing until the others came back from their adventure? When I could be out there, looking for them, and possibly even joining them?

Not a chance.

~One Week Later~

It had taken a week, but I'd finally dug up all of my father's maps of other worlds, and a photo of Ven, Aqua and Terra. I'd also gathered up my _entire_ artillery of weapons, from my crossbow to my katana, even the ones I couldn't summon yet. I'd grabbed my ash-grey hoodie, my spare jeans, shorts, sneakers, flip-flop sandals, undies, deodorant, a bed roll, a sleeping bag, my MP3 player, my _entire _stock of potions and ethers, my *awesome* polished black electric guitar and amp, and my 'girlie stuff' (for all those who know what I'm implying), and shrunk them all down enough that they'd fit in my old, raggedy rucksack.

Now I just needed to get past Drake without him noticing.

I slung the bag over my shoulder as I crept silently through the underground cavern we called our 'kitchen', unnoticed by my little brother, and out through the little tunnel we called our 'entry hall'. I whisked through the door, quietly shutting it behind me. I then sprinted for the opening of the massive underground (in-mountain, rather) cave system, activating my armour as I ran. I laughed in my *annoying* helmet as the black and gold cape that usually billowed out behind me when I wore my armour became ensnared in my bag, unable to swish as usual.

As I emerged into the light of the outside world, I took off my helmet, tucking it under my arm as I ran. I knew exactly where I was going: The ruins on the cliff top, where I had watched Terra, Ven, and then Aqua all leave.

I arrived in no time at all, inhaling steeply. I scaled the ruins, then perched on the top, and sat my backpack beside me, allowing my cape to do as it pleased. I closed my eyes, enjoying the autumn breeze as it warmed my face. _I need to return at least once while the trees down in the valley are showing their true colours_, I thought, _otherwise, I'm not coming back unless I find the others_.

"Pyra?" A young, male voice panted. Drake. Dammit. "Pyra, what are you doing?"

"Finding the others," I answered, slinging my bag onto my back once more, my cape a little less trapped this time. "I should probably be going, I'm behind them by a week."

"Don't leave," he begged, "_please_..."

"Drake, I started looking after you when I was twelve. You and I are both growing up now, I can't look out for you forever."

"But what about when Dad's not home!"

"I taught you how to cook, didn't I?" I smiled warmly, leaping down from my perch, helmet in hand. I took my brother in a tight hug. "You got nothing to worry about, you'll be fine." I stepped back a way, looking at him. He was very pretty for a young boy, what with his shoulder length black hair, cute little little fringe and his glittery black eyes. I'd miss him, I would.

I turned away from my brother and faced the cliff edge that I had scrambled over (with the help of the others) just a week ago, and summoned my Keyblade.

"PYRA! What do you think you're _doing_!" Came my father's voice. I turned my head to see him running up the path to the ledge that Drake and I stood upon.

"Finding the others," I stated, putting on my helmet.

"Are you _crazy_! You'll be _killed_ out there!"

"I've been fighting for _nine years_, Dad. I fight on the same level as the others. I'll be fine." I threw my Keyblade out into the air behind me, just as I'd seen Terra and the others do. I leapt into the air, and landed on a large, fire-and-lightning-mish-mash glider. "I'll make you proud, I promise," I exclaimed over the drone of my glider. I looked at Drake. "Take care, midget!" I laughed, throwing a mock salute, before looking at my father and doing the same.

"Pyra..." My father paused a moment, while I hung in midair on my glider. "... Be careful, okay?"

"Dad, you know me," I laughed, "I'm never as careful as I could be. But I'll stay alive. Just for you two," I bowed my head respectfully, "Master."

Then I shot into the skies, into the chaos I would remember my entire life.

Oh, and it was also the last time I saw my father alive.


	4. Chapter Three: The Shooting Star

Chapter Three – The Shooting Star

Radiant Garden. A world full of hidden wonders. I should know – My friend Isa and I had found hundreds of them.

… Well. Maybe not hundreds.

"Did you _really _have to do that?" Isa complained. "Really, we can brawl with random passers-by any day of the week, so why choose _today_, when we have _stuff to do_?"

"What!" I raised my hands defensively. "Ven was cool!"

"Fighting 'Ven', or, whoever, was _not_ what we set out to do today. We're going to explore that secret passage we found, remember?"

"Aw, lighten up; it was just a bit of fun."

"Not the fun we'd set out to do today."

… Why the hell wasn't Isa acting like himself? Was puberty making him irritable?

"Look, you asked me why I was so hell-bent on being remembered. I told you why. Now _you _have to tell me what's with you and all the concrete-solid-we're-doing-this-today-and-nothing-else plans?" I demanded.

"We never end up doing what we set out to do! Ever! We always end up doing something else!" He shouted complainatively. "And what's worse…"

I looked up at the sky, no longer listening. Here we go, I just _had _to ask him something he'd rave on about forever…

A flash of light appeared out of nowhere, rocketing down towards a spot on the horizon. I followed it with my eyes as the realization hit me.

… A shooting star?

I heard a faint droning noise, accompanied by what could have been screaming…

...

"HOLY SHIIIT!" I screamed, frantically pulling up as my glider careened out of control, "WHERE ARE THE BRAKES ON THIS THIIIII-"

...

There was a loud crashing noise, accompanied by a bright flash and what sounded like an explosion. Judging by the volume, it couldn't have been more than two kilometres away.

"Isa!" I cried, breaking into his rant, "Did you see that! A shooting star! IT FREAKING _CRASH LANDED_! Let's go find it!"

"You see, Lea!" He groaned. "This is _exactly _what I'm on about. You want to do everything _other_ than whatever we planned! Well I'm not following you this time. You can go it alone if you like, I'm exploring the secret passage."

I was torn. Isa or the shooting star?

Isa… He paid me out almost constantly, complained when I wanted to do something other than what we had planned, and I'm pretty sure he was obsessive compulsive about looking 'man-pretty'. I mean, I wear a scarf and all, but I could swear he uses mascara and eyeliner. Really. Cross my heart.

The shooting star… Come on, It's a star. Natural curiosity. How could I possibly resist?

"Sorry, Isa," I sighed, jogging in the direction of where the star had fallen. "The shooting star will probably be better than me than you've been…"

With that, I dashed off down the nearest alleyway, weaving my way around the crates strewn around the place.

"FINE!" Isa yelled after me. "I GUESS WE AREN'T FRIENDS ANYMORE, THEN!"

His words hurt, stung, dug deep, or whatever. But, being a guy, you can get over these things. As long as you have something interesting waiting to be explored.

I ran for a bit, until I finally came across a huge gauge mark in the ground, as if something had screeched painfully to a halt, beginning their rapid loss in speed right in front of me.

Awesome.

I followed the trail of destruction, stepping cautiously through holes in walls, treading warily over the rubble. I noticed that the further I walked, the lesser the destruction became, until finally I reached an area that was almost completely enclosed. The exception was the hole in the wall I'd had to climb through to get into said area.

I looked around, exhaling deeply. I could have sworn I stopped breathing completely for about half a minute when I saw what had caused the damage.

It wasn't a star at all. It was a body, crumpled up against the wall.

Once I regained control of myself, I panicked. A body. It was a body. Shit. A person. Had crash landed. In Radiant Garden. Oh. My. God.

_Compose yourself! _I thought to myself. _Stop over-thinking things, they could still be alive!_

I quickly snapped myself out of my panic, and stepped over to the body. It was well armoured, and I couldn't see a dent in the armour anywhere, so it didn't look like they would be too badly hurt. I looked at their chest, which was rising and falling slowly. Alive. And a girl, apparently (couldn't help but notice… Eheheh).

I looked her over once more, before gently nudging her with the toe of my sneaker. "Hey," I began, "hey, are you okay?"

No response.

I bent down and looked once at the helmet she was wearing. It was well made – maybe of Moogle design? – but it had to be removed. I needed to see if she was conscious or not.

I reached out to remove her helmet…

… And a hand snapped closed around my wrist. "I can do that myself, thanks," came a grumpy, female voice from within the helmet.

She was conscious, then…

She released her grip on my wrist, lifted her head a little, then pulled off her helmet in a swift, practised movement. She dropped it next to where I was crouched, before rolling into a more comfortable looking position and checking her forehead for blood.

The first thing I noticed when she pulled her helmet off, however, wasn't what she did afterwards. It was the way that she looked. Her black hair was cropped surprisingly shorter than mine, but with a fringe pulled to the right side of her face. She had eyes the colour of gold chain, gleaming a little, though I couldn't quite pick why, considering as she just freaking _crash-landed_.

Anyway, she seemed content with the lack of blood on her head, so she rolled onto her front, going to prop herself up. Just as she leaned onto her right arm, she collapsed, falling flat on her face. "Dammit!" she cursed, trying again. Failing again. Hissing at herself.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I dislocated my shoulder… I'll be 'right," she looked at me, a slightly pissed off expression passing over her face like the shadow of a storm cloud as she adjusted the bag on her back.

Then her expression changed. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she looked straight at me, as if she were examining me for some reason.

"What?" I asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable with being stared at.

"Your eyes are glassy. A little odd, considering as I'm the one who crashed. Otherwise, your eyes are pretty cool. Like emeralds. Shiny. Green." She paused for a moment, before getting up (using her non-dislocated left arm), looking away. "Sorry, I, um… Don't normally do that…"

"It's cool…" I replied awkwardly, standing up. Glassy eyed? Doesn't that only happen when you're concussed or when you've been crying? I'm pretty sure I was neither of those.

I then noticed her armour had begun to glow. After a split second, it had become blindingly bright, so much so that I had to close my eyes. Once the glow died down, I opened my eyes to see the girl standing there. This wouldn't usually have phased me, except she was now wearing black skinny jeans and a red, silver and black halter top. And where the straps met at the front of the halter top was a gold emblem that was just like Ven's.

Sure, she was still wearing armoured boots, and a piece around her waist, and her entire left arm was cloaked in red, gold and purpley metal, and purple-blue fingerless gloves, too, but that didn't matter. She was wearing the same emblem as Ven. Maybe they knew each other!

All of a sudden, she threw herself onto her dislocated shoulder. She landed with a hard 'thunk' on the stone ground, before pushing herself off of the floor into a crouch.

She rolled her shoulder around, wincing slightly. "Almost…" she mumbled, before looking up at me. "You believe in magic?" She asked.

"Sort of, why?"

"Because it's very, _VERY _real," she smirked. She raised one hand, her left one, and put it on her shoulder. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Cure," she grinned.

Her hand began to glow a soft green, as did her shoulder, as I watched in awe. I noticed my jaw was hanging open, but I made no effort to fix that. Her hand was _glowing_. GLOWING!

"That's better," she smiled, as the glowing subsided. She rolled her shoulder around a little, before looking at me, and simply stated, "I popped it back into place, but the muscles were pretty sore, so I healed them."

My jaw was still hanging open.

"How did you _do _that!" I spluttered, exasperated.

"MAAAAGIC," she smirked, making a shimmering motion with her hands. She laughed briefly. "No, really, magic. I'm serious."

She quickly pulled her bag off of her back, and began to rummage through it, looking for something. "Now, where'd I put that paperclip chain…" she mumbled.

"Can you do any other magic?" I asked as she rummaged.

"Why would I tell you that? I've just met you," she laughed, "You could run off with whatever I tell you, and you could seriously do some harm to things if you didn't go about it in the right way."

"You can trust me. You crash landed, I found you, I checked to see if you were okay, and I'm still here, aren't I?" I smiled. "I'm not leaving until you seem fit to be on your way. And even so, I wouldn't say anything. If a magician reveals his or her secrets, it doesn't seem like magic any more."

She paused, pulling a long chain of what appeared to be scale model weapons from her bag. She pulled a katana (in a sheath) from said chain, looked at me once, and then back at the tiny little weapon. "You better be watching this," she sighed, somewhat reluctantly, concentrating on the miniature. "Inim," she spoke, and the katana (and the sheath) grew to full size, and balanced in the palm of her hand.

I was once again aware of my mouth hanging wide open.

"Really," she smirked, fastening the katana to her belt, "stop doing that. Do you _want _to catch flies in your mouth?"

I shut my mouth, then realized it was pointless. I had stuff to say.

"Who _are _you?" I asked.

"The name's Pyra," she smiled, putting the chain of paper-clipped miniature weapons back in her bag. "Who're you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

I smirked, mind whizzing into its normal gear. "The name's Lea," I chuckled, "got it memorized?"

"Sure," she laughed, stepping out through the first broken wall, swinging her bag onto her back. She'd only taken a few steps out of the little courtyard-y area before she rushed back in, and rummaged through her bag again until she found the chain. "You any good at sports, Lea?" She asked, a slightly different tone shading her voice.

"Um, I like frisbees. And I'm good at discus. Just don't have that good a stamina level, is all."

"Just needed to know up to discus," she stated, slightly quieter. She took two circle-like weapons from the chain, again using magic to return the weapons to their original sizes. They were red and silver, and had a black crossbar in the centre. She rubbed her head with one hand, while explaining with the other. "Okay, these are chakrams. You hold them like this," she paused, gesturing to the way she held he chakrams, "but usually they're held with one in each hand. They're good for melee and ranged combat. Here."

She passed me the chakrams, which I took hold of hesitantly. "Um," I began, "what are these for?"

"Around that corner is a boy in black and red. He wants to kill me."

Again with the jaw-dropping.

"Anyway, I'm going to distract him, and you're going to get out of here. If you meet any monsters, run, or fight them with the chakrams. They're called the Unversed, and the little blue ones are pretty easy to beat. If you see the boy in the red and black, though, run like hell. Forget the weapons, just run. If he corners you, then you fight to escape."

"Erm, I don't fight people very often."

"Then just run. Don't fight what you don't feel comfortable fighting. But I don't want the person who found me to be killed as collateral damage, okay?"

I looked at her face. It was set hard like concrete, a solemn, no-bullshit expression. She wasn't kidding.

I nodded once, as did she, before she drew her katana. "If you're in real trouble, scream as loud as you can. I'll do my best to come help. Promise," she smirked, holding out her left hand for a shake. I took my chakrams into my right hand, and gripped hers with my own.

"I hope it doesn't come to that."

"I hope not too," she nodded, briskly stepping around the corner. I pressed myself against the wall.

"Well, well, well," a voice snarled, "if it isn't the cripple girl."

… Cripple? How was Pyra a cripple?

"Vanitas," Pyra growled, "how's my uncle going?"

"Oh, not as bad as you'll be in a minute or so," the 'Vanitas' guy laughed sadistically, before I heard a loud clang. The two were fighting. And by the amount of clanging I heard, they could fight well.

All of a sudden, Pyra skidded to a halt just next to the hole in the wall. She was balanced in a crouch, holding her katana tightly, and she looked ready to pounce. She spared a glance at me, her face a mask of seriousness. "When you hear an explosion, that's your opening. That's when you run," she stated, launching herself back in the direction of the guy she was fighting. "FIRA!" I heard her yell, before a massive explosion erupted out of nowhere.

Well, as much as I knew I was gonna regret it, I bolted around the corner, and away from the battle. I heard the clanging slowly become quieter and quieter, until all I could hear was the occasional explosion. I leaned against a wall to catch my breath. I hadn't run that far that fast in AGES.

I heard a little whispery noise, then a scuffle. I quickly looked up to see a little blue thing darting about on the floor, flanked by two grey and red bird-like things. _They're called the Unversed_, I remembered, _and the little blue ones are pretty easy to beat_.

I readied the chakrams in my hands. _Here goes nothing…_

I swiped at the Unversed thingies, using the chakrams as I'd used the frisbees not all that long ago. I threw one, and it hit one of the flying ones right between the eyes, causing it to vanish. _Awesome, one down_, I thought. I looked at the other bird thing quickly, hitting the little blue whatsit at the same time.

Jeez, it was high up…

I quickly finished the blue, jerky thing, and threw both of the chakrams as hard as I could into the sky, directly at the bird thing. I snickered happily as the chakrams returned, followed sharply by the birdy thing. I smacked it as hard as I could, laughing to myself as it vanished.

I looked down to my feet, startled by the amount of Munny that the Unversed had dropped. These things obviously did well. There was about 30 Munny, just sitting there, on the ground, where they'd all vanished.

I picked it up, fascinated. They dropped Munny. I could make a living out of beating these things. Keeping Radiant Garden safe. Maybe I could join Ansem's guard, hah, yeah right. Once I actually owned my own weapons, maybe. Once I got stronger, and could last longer, maybe. Otherwise, AW HELL NO.

There was a rather loud explosion from around the corner, and, all of a sudden, Pyra came skidding out from behind a wall, katana held proudly in front of herself. "Yeah, and that's what you get for saying _THAT_, you _IDIOT_!" She screamed, springing to her feet, then jumping several feet backwards. She looked at me once, then said, "you might want to move."

I jumped back just as a guy in black and red with a butt-cape and mask launched themselves at Pyra, a gear-like key-shaped weapon held out in front of them. He knocked her back a fair way, her katana skittering across the floor.

The masked guy, who I quickly realized was Vanitas, gripped Pyra by the neck, and pressed her against the wall, holding his key-like-blade to her throat. "Any last words, _cripple_?" He snarled.

"Yeah, a few," Pyra smirked, "you forgot about my scimitars, didn't you?"

She swept her arms out in front of herself in a cross-like motion, two red and gold blades appearing in her hands (one in each), before kneeing Vanitas in his chest, and escaping his choke hold. With a motion that was so quick I couldn't see it properly, she managed to score several blows to his shoulders with her blades. She then ducked around him so she was facing his back, then caught him in a headlock, still holding her blades. She pressed one to his neck.

"I'm pretty sure I know what comes next, _buddy_, but maybe _that_ will remind you to be less forgetful," she growled, tightening the choke.

I realized that the material that had been torn on Vanitas' shoulders by Pyra's attacks was somehow mending itself. Really? Magical material? Scheissen.

Next thing I knew, Vanitas had vanished from Pyra's choke, and had trapped _me_ in a headlock. He held his key-thingy to my throat, laughing maniacally. "What do we have here," he began, sounding almost pleased with himself, "more _prey_? Really, Pyra, you shouldn't have."

I struggled in his chokehold, fighting to break free. No effect. I thrashed a little, attempting to whack him with the chakrams, but he just flicked them out of my hands with the wrist guard of his weapon.

… Dammit…

"Vanitas, don't, he has nothing to do with this," Pyra warned, stepping a little closer.

"Oh really?" He replied, tightening his grip. "Then how come he was armed? _Surely_ you didn't give him those weapons?"

I coughed a little, still struggling to escape.

Pyra frowned, then looked at the floor. She raised a single, red and gold blade, and pointed it in my general direction. "Don't hurt him. If you do… All _hell_ will break loose." She looked up, eyes gleaming sadistically, "and _trust_ me. If you think I was playing dirty before, you ain't seen _NOTHING _yet."

She was defending me…?

If she was… She was getting pretty scary about it.

"Is that _so_?" Vanitas snickered. "Well, what if I don't just _hurt_ him?"

He tightened his grip a little, and I started to get dizzy.

"You won't even _live_ to find out," Pyra snarled, narrowing her glare, "don't try me, I _will_ kill you."

"Alright," Vanitas mused, almost sounding thoughtful, "in exchange for his life… You know what I want."

"You're either talking about _my _life or Ven's whereabouts. Care to elaborate?"

So she _did _know Ven?

"You overheard me talking to Xehanort. You know what I want. And you know I'd cut down anything in my way to get it. Surely you don't want yourself or this _loser_ to be collateral damage?"

Pyra paused. "Fine. Release him, and _then_ I'll tell you what I know."

"How do I know you won't turn tail and run?"

"I never break a deal. Besides, what good would it do me?"

There was a brief pause, before I was shoved roughly to the ground, freed from Vanitas' vicegrip. I quickly found the chakrams on the ground, keeping my eyes on him, then scurried backwards until I ran into Pyra's leg.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"Don't worry about it," she replied.

"Now," Vanitas snarled, "where is he?"

"I don't know, to be completely honest," Pyra grinned, as I stood to my feet. "You should have asked me if I actually knew anything before making the deal."

"You _bitch_."

"Yeah, I know, right!" She laughed, sounding quite plaesed with herself. "Now, I've stuck to my side of the bargain, you've stuck to yours…" She paused momentarily, before taking a glance at me. She grinned wildly, before saying, "so now it's time to see how fast Lea can _run_!"

Before I could reply, she'd grabbed my wrist and began running (at about a _bajillion_ miles an hour) away from Vanitas. It took all of my concentration just trying to coordinate my feet, considering as they pretty much started moving on their own when we took off.

Pyra spared a quick glance over her shoulder, then looked back to the alleyway we'd ended up sprinting down, frowning. "He's coming," she gasped, "think you can keep going once I break off in another direction?"

"If it's a difference between life and death, then sure!"

"Is there a crossroads coming up?"

"Soon, yeah. I'll go right, you go straight?"

"Sure."

I waited until I saw the crates that were usually stacked at the corners of this particular parting in the road, before yelling, "Ready?"

"Hell yeah," Pyra grinned, letting go of my wrist. "GO!"

I veered left as she continued dead ahead. I kept running as fast as I could, panting heavily. I spared a glance over my shoulder after a while, to see how far I'd come.

Shit.

Vanitas.

Had.

Followed.

Me.

I turned my head back to look in front of me, then screeched to a halt as I realised I'd taken the dead end alley. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I was so dead it wasn't funny. Shit.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the cripple's little buddy. You really ought to learn how to fight back, you know, otherwise I'll kill you. And I suggest you learn fast." Vanitas growled, key in hand.

I backed up, closer to the wall. Surely there had to be some way to escape…?

He lunged. I could tell he wasn't moving at full speed, but he was still moving quick enough to kill me with one blow.

I slammed my eyes shut, bracing for impact…

"REFLERA!" Came a loud cry from above, shortly followed by a quiet 'tappp' noise about two feet in front of me. I opened my eyes to see Pyra, hands stretched out in front of herself, conjuring a large, transparent but slightly purplish barrier, which appeared to have a hexagonal pattern running through it. "You. Don't. Touch. Him," she hissed.

I noticed she was shivering slightly.

… Scared? She hadn't looked it before.

… Or was she weakened?

I also noticed a starburst shaped scar spread across her shoulder, and a little blob-like scar on her neck. Odd.

"You really don't want me to kill this guy, do you?" Vanitas laughed, seemingly amused.

"Like I _said_," she snarled, voice strained slightly, "He has nothing to do with this. Let him be."

I saw the barrier falter for a moment, but then return to normal. Pyra winced slightly. I clutched the chakrams tightly.

Vanitas seemed to notice, too. "Come on, I know you can't hold that barrier for much longer. You're attempting a spell that's out of your league. I mean, look at you. You're _pathetic_."

Pyra seemed to straighten up a little. "I… I can hold it as long as I want!" She snapped, sounding a little unsure, voice wavering as if in intense pain. The barrier flickered out again, for longer this time.

"No, you can't," Vanitas mocked, in a sing song voice, Pyra's barrier flickering on every word. "Now, tell me. Where. Is. Ventus!"

Pyra cried out sharply, suddenly clutching her head. The barrier vanished completely, and she collapsed to her knees. She groaned once, then fell to the ground, unconscious. I quickly tossed the chakrams over my shoulder and stooped down, just to make sure she was alive. I checked to see if she had a pulse.

Her heart was definitely beating. Thank God. If one exists.

"I told her so," Vanitas snickered, looking at Pyra, before looking at me (or, at least, that's what it looked like, I couldn't tell, what with him wearing that mask). "Now that your protection's gone, I suppose I'm free to kill you. Any las-"

"No, wait!" I protested, thinking quickly. "I know Ven!"

"What?" Vanitas questioned, sounding unconvinced. "Prove it."

"He's… Blonde. My height. Good fighter, compared to me, anyway."

"… What do you know?"

"Not a lot, but he was here about half an hour ago. In the main square. He's probably gone by now, somewhere else, but… please. Like Pyra said, I really have nothing to do with this. I have no clue what's going on, believe me!"

"Gone… Look. I'll leave you… for now. Next time, don't expect me to be as sparing. If we cross paths again, I'll kill you," Vanitas whirled on his feet, voice giving off a bored vibe. "And I _won't_ go easy."

He walked off at a brisk pace. I didn't un-tense my shoulders until I saw him round the corner, and when I did, well, you can probably tell where my focus shifted to.

"Pyra," I whispered loudly, gently shaking her shoulders, "Pyra, are you alright?"

She groaned once, her face a mask of pain, then curled up a little. "Too... much magic... head... pounding... like a bass drum in a Dizzee Rascal song..." she groaned through gritted teeth, laughing weakly. Regardless, she propped herself up slightly, and pulled her bag off of her back, moving slowly as she undid the zipper and started rummaging around for something. She pulled out a small, stock-cube-shaped thing wrapped in baking paper, and unwrapped it, to reveal a purpley-blue jelly. She quickly stuffed it in her mouth, and swallowed. Relief flooded over her face.

"What was that?" I asked, puzzled.

She sat up quickly, maybe a little _too _quickly, then clutched her head again, but the pained expression that crossed her face seemed way milder than the one before. "An ether. It helps with any magic-induced strain. It relieves migraines caused by magic to an extent which the pain becomes ignorable. And if you feel that any form of magic-induced headache is imminent, eat one of those, and you can use more magic than you would have been able to before the pain sets in."

"Sounds like a sales pitch," I laughed, "so why didn't you last longer before you collapsed?"

"Two reasons..." she began, "One, I'd never used a barrier spell before. Let alone a second level barrier spell, A-K-A the original spell, but ending in 'ra'. Like 'Fira', or 'Thundara'. They take more practice. And I hadn't even practiced the first level 'Reflect' spell, so... I was pretty stupid there."

"What's the second reason?" I asked, despite the fact I knew next to nothing about magic.

"I would have lasted a _little_ longer, maybe another thirty seconds, but Vanitas was mentally assaulting my barrier, forcing me to strain myself more to keep the barrier alive."

"Does he always play dirty?"

"Of the two times I've met him... Yeah," she growled, appearing to be very angry. "I first met him a week ago, around a half an hour before my friends took off into the sky. I left to find them around three hours ago. Only to crash my glider, come across Vanitas again, and then pass out from an incredibly intense migraine."

"Wow. Tough week," I sighed, before realising something. "Wait, _THREE HOURS AGO_! Where _were _you when you _started_? 'Cause, judging by the way you were speeding across the sky like a shooting star, it wouldn't take you three hours to get from one side of town to the other!"

She looked gobsmacked.

"Um… I'm…" She stumbled for words.

"What?" I interrogated.

"…I'm from another world."

"YOU'RE FROM _WHERE_!"


	5. Chapter Four: Suit Up

Chapter Four – Suit Up

"So, let me get this straight," Lea started, after about five minutes of me explaining the make-up of the universe, "there are tons of other worlds, and you're from a world called The Land of Departure?"

"Yes," I sighed. "And so are the three people I set out to find."

He looked puzzled. I realized I hadn't told him about the others yet. Or, at least, not in great depth.

I rummaged through my bag once again, and retrieved the picture of Ven, Terra and Aqua. I held it out to Lea, and pointed at the three in the photo. "This is Terra, this is Aqua, and this is Ventus," I stated, "and they left my home world a week ago. I think I mentioned I was searching for people earlier."

"Yeah… I do remember that…" Lea mumbled, taking the picture. He pointed at Ven. "I know him. He was here around a half-hour ago. He's probably gone by now."

I gripped Lea by his (might I say awesome?) scarf, holding his face about three inches from mine.

Dammit, he was that tiny bit taller than me.

"You've met Ventus! He was here!" I asked loudly, desperately (and kind of accidentally) yelling in Lea's face.

"Whoa, calm ya' farm, he was here," he admitted, moving away, "we mucked around a little, and then I went off with my friend Isa to go do something. About five minutes later, you fell out of the sky. If he left, you only just missed him. No sweat."

I stood up, and looked at the sky. Dammit, he was only here half an hour ago! At least I could have brought one of them back! But no, I left that little bit too late.

That. Is. Gay. And not in the happy way.

"Ah, well," I sighed, stepping off in the direction of the crossroads we'd split off at. "I'm going to go get my katana," I smirked, "I mean, I _did_ take off without it… Wanna come with?"

"Sure," Lea shrugged. I nodded once, and then we set off towards where I left my Katana. "By the way," he mused, "do you want your chakrams back? I'm not really gonna have much need for them…"

I pondered for a moment.

A sly smile spread across my face.

"Actually," I began, "you might want to hold onto them."

"Why's that?"

"I'm going to teach you how to fight."

"Why are we doing this again?" Lea asked, after we'd retrieved my katana, and it was safely returned to its sheath.

"Because I want you to come with me. Come on, it'll be fun!" I grinned, leading him down a random flight of stairs. We ended up in a massive courtyard outside the city, with a gate at one end, flowers dotted about randomly, and a massive fountain in the middle. I got the strangest feeling that I'd been here before. "So… Where are we, exactly?"

"These are the Outer Gardens. There's a secret passage in this side of the fountain that leads to an underground room, and the gate leads out into the valley. From there, you can get to the Crystal Caves, but nobody goes there anymore, not since the last caving expedition mysteriously disappeared," Lea rambled.

… Caves?

… Later.

"Okay, it looks pretty open, and there aren't any people to get in the way… So we'll train out here. You cool with that?" I asked, pulling my katana from my sheath.

"Um…"

"Come on, Lea, ready your chakrams."

"But you're a girl!"

"Yeah, and that's a flower, and that's a rock. What's your point?"

"I can't hit a girl! Especially not with a sharp, pointy, throwy thing!"

"Ah, but the girl wants you to attack her as hard as you can with said sharp, pointy, throwy things. Just do it!"

"… As long as you dodge or parry everything, I don't want to hurt you."

… Okay, I must admit, I'm about to say something I don't say too often.

… Awwwww.

"Okay, fine, but you gotta attack as if you were trying to kill me."

"… Ahm-"

"GO!"

He paused awkwardly for a moment, before putting all of his effort into slashing me to smithereens. I blocked and dodged, moving to strike back, but halting my blade just millimetres from his body. "You gotta work on the defensive as well as the offensive," I advised, ducking under a flying chakram.

"I'll work on it," Lea panted, working hard to fight efficiently.

We continued our block, dodge and feint battle for about ten minutes, but then I realised that we probably should have trained our stamina first. I could see it on Lea's face: he was over-exerting himself. He threw a chakram weakly, before stumbling, catching himself on the edge of the fountain.

"Okay, time to take a break," I said, stepping backwards, sheathing my katana, and pulling out a potion. I handed it to Lea, sitting down next where he was leaning. "Sit down and drink this, it'll help."

He nodded, before sitting down next to me. He took a sip of the drink, almost untrusting, but then smiled and finished the rest. Within moments, he looked fighting fit again, and ready to do battle.

"That stuff is amazing," he exclaimed. "It tastes _awesome_! And I don't feel exhausted anymore! Seriously, how is it that good?"

"Magic. It's a secret, moogle-created brew, so don't ask me how to make it, 'cause I don't know, but I _do _know they use magical ingredients," I smirked.

"Amazing!"

"I know, huh?" I paused a moment. I'd just had another idea, and that sneaky smile was returning to my face again. "Hey, speaking of magic… You wanna learn?"

"Are you serious!"

"Hells yes."

"THEN HELLS YEAH!" Lea cried, almost jumping off of the edge of the fountain.

"Okay, then. But you may want to stay seated, in case of lightheadedness." I instructed.

"Sure!" Lea grinned, sitting down on the edge of the fountain again.

"Now, have you got a favourite element?"

"Fire. Always fire."

"Sweet, my favourite, too. Now, cup your hands in front of you, we're starting out small."

Lea cupped his hands. "'Kay."

"Now, say 'fire', but say it differently to the way you normally say it, you know, give it some meaning," I instructed, cupping my hands in example. "Like so. Fire."

I watched as a small, flickery little flame grew in my palms. Lea looked at it with a slightly mesmerised gaze for a moment, before trying it himself.

His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Fire!" He laughed, before a massive flame shot into the sky. "GYAAAAAHH TOO MUCH FIRE!" He yelped, before the flame shrunk down to match-stick-flame-sized.

"Um, Lea?"

"Yeah, not enough fire…" He smirked, before the flame grew to the size of mine. "That's better!" He laughed merrily, looking very proud.

So he should, that was amazing control for a first timer.

"Did I do well?" Lea asked, sounding slightly out of it, watching his flame flicker and dance in his hands.

"Yeah, you did amazingly, actually. I congratulate you," I said in a flowery voice, performing a mock bow, making sure to put out my fire first.

"Why, thankyou," he laughed, "and I couldn't have done it without my friends and family, or my awesome scarf, or… AHHH…" He joked, pretending it was all part of a stupid awards ceremony.

I snickered.

"Now, how do you stop the magic?" He asked all of a sudden, looking at me for instruction.

"Don't you like magic now?" I raised my eyebrows jokingly.

"No, I do, I just don't want to collapse in agony like you did," he laughed.

"Ah, okay, there are two options for fire… stop the magic flow, or, in other words, imagine the fire being smothered, or you could dunk it in the fountain. Either way, the fire will go out.."

He hesitated, then dunked his hands in the water.

I nodded.

He then threw all the water that had replaced the fire at my face. I growled, as he laughed hysterically.

"So that's how you want to do this, then," I mused, the evil grin returning. I'd figured out a way to train stamina - make it fun. I splashed him back.

"Bring it on!" He laughed, splashing madly.

"Consider it brought!" I grinned, dashing off towards one of the canals at the edge of the gardens. "WATER!" I cried, taking water directly from the canal and spraying it at Lea. I watched as he flailed for a moment, then cut off the magic flow, darting around the gardens madly. "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" I yelled.

"You couldn't out run me if you tried!" Lea replied, wringing out his scarf. He jumped to his feet, before chasing me around the gardens like we were nine years old.

To tell the truth, I hadn't had this much fun in over a year, not since I quit the baseball team.

We ran around for a little while, before I jumped onto the top of the sculpture in the middle of the fountain. From there, I basically had target practice, shooting little water jets at Lea. After a while, he could dodge everything I threw at him. Of course, by then, he was completely soaked again. _AND_ he'd figured out how to shoot water back at me, so I was pretty wet, too.

I bounced off of the sculpture, then shot another jet of water at him. He shot one back, so we basically continued our pointless little water fight until our heads hurt from all the magic. And then we just splashed each other. And It felt so normal, for some reason. Like I'd done it all before.

Gotta love fountains. They're so… useful.

Until you fall over. Like I did. Then you're kind of… vulnerable to more water attack.

"TAKE THAT!" Lea laughed hysterically, splashing me insanely, as I tried to get up, slipping on the tiles. The only downside to metal boots… They don't grip well in water.

"It's not fair!" I complained, "You're wearing sneakers!" I laughed, grabbing his ankle and tripping him up, so he fell flat on his bum in the water. I gripped the sculpture in the middle of the fountain, pulling myself up, then, still gripping said sculpture, offered Lea a hand.

"What's wrong with sneakers?" he asked, accepting my hand getting up.

"They're grippy. Metal… Not so much, not in water. Anything else, and the folds in the metal catch the tiniest indentations in the ground, but it doesn't work when they're wet."

"I see. You're sure you aren't just uncoordinated in water?"

"I'm sure."

I gingerly stepped out of the fountain, making sure to avoid the puddles on the ground.

Yeah, not really possible. Meaning I slipped over again. DAMNED BOOTS!

"Well, I beg to differ…" Lea sniggered.

"Shut up!" I snapped, grinning, unable to suppress my own laughter.

I decided to pull my boots off and walk barefoot, and so I did just that. I took a length of string from my (waterproof, thank god) bag, and tied my boots together, so I could sling them over my shoulder.

I got up, happy with my new found grip, and looked at the horizon. The sun was going to go down soon. I needed to find someplace to stay. And it was getting cold. I didn't like the cold. It was too… you know, cold.

I turned back towards the city, trying to remember how I got to the Outer Gardens. "I should probably go, set up camp somewhere before the sun goes down," I told Lea.

"You could stay at my place, my aunt wouldn't mind, and trust me, we have one comfy-ass couch!" Lea suggested.

I gawked.

He shrugged.

Um… A guy I'd only met today, because of pure chance, and had consequently become friends with… was asking me if I wanted to stay at his house if I had nowhere else.

Right.

Um.

I was sure there had to be a motel somewhere. But before I could protest, Lea had grabbed my arm and was dragging me off back towards the city.

By my armour, might I add. It was all I could do just pulling it up, making sure it stayed on my shoulder.

"Um, I really don't want to be a burden…"

"Don't worry, it's nothing. You kind of saved my butt from that Vanitas guy, it's the least I could do. Plus, you wanted me to come with you, right? Well, you're gonna need to check with my aunt first."

Many good points there.

Wait a minute.

"You live with your aunt?" I asked.

"Yeah, you remember me telling you about that caving tour that never returned?"

"Vaguely, but yes."

"My parents were the tour guides."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, as we climbed the stairs up to the main square.

"Um… Look, I'm really sorry, I didn't know." I spoke, finally breaking the silence. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I mean, it was two years ago, so I'm used to the idea that my folks are never coming back. I just… Miss them a little, I suppose," Lea mused sadly.

Another awkward silence. I considered telling him about my mother, but I decided against it.

"Well… I would like you to come with me. So I may as well meet your aunt," I sighed, changing the subject while wriggling my arm free. Damn, he had a tight grip. "She nice?"

"She's kind of eccentric. But she's pretty cool. You two would get along well, from what I can tell."

"Are you calling me weird!" I joked, giving him a light shove.

"No, just calling you slightly left of centre. Problem?" He laughed, shoving back.

Jeez, one day, and we were acting as if we'd known each other for ages. What the! That's not usually what I'm like, maybe something was up with my hormones. Stupid girl problems.

Suddenly, I realised that I had no clue how old he was. I mean, I had a vague idea, but still.

"How old are you, Lea?" I asked, narrowing my gaze slightly.

"Fifteen. Sixteen in August. Why?"

"You're older than me. By two months," I stated, glaring jokingly. "What day's your birthday?"

"The eighth. I'm a Leo. Lion. You?"

"October thirteenth, Libra," I stated proudly. "Scales."

"Nice. Isn't that on a Friday this year?"

"It _is_," I laughed, only just realizing the potential awesomeness of my sixteenth birthday. "I should so have an early Halloween party. I could dress as a werewolf or something," I sniggered.

"That would be pretty cool," Lea grinned. "Who would you invite?"

"EVERYONE. All of my friends and family. Even that random who lived down the corridor from my family back in Departure," I stated.

"Me too?" Lea asked, jokingly making puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, why not!" I laughed, "your aunt can come too! Just for the hell of it!"

… You know… I was enjoying this sudden, random little friendship. I had no clue why I was so taken aback by the prospect of it before.

"Speaking of my aunt…" Lea trailed off, looking down the street we were walking down. There was a woman with a frizzy red ponytail standing outside one of the houses, glaring at Lea. She was wearing an orange t-shirt and blue skinny jeans (with brown boots over the top, they looked awesome), and looked surprisingly like a maths teacher from my home world. "That be her."

"Okaaaay…" I began, before being cut off.

"Lea! Where have you been! I told you we were having lasagna tonight!" Lea's aunt yelled, her face stern, before she burst out laughing. "Nah, I can't be strict… Who's your friend?" She grinned, raising an eyebrow.

… Um. I think she meant something else there.

"I'm Pyra," I grinned, ignoring the possible second meaning of her question, "and I think you've got the wrong idea."

"I see..." she began, seeming to ponder over what I'd just said for a moment, before continuing. "I'm Shiloh," she smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Shiloh," I smirked, doing a little bow.

"So… What brings you here with my nephew?"

"She's a traveller, she's not from around here. She crashed about a kilometre away, and I found her. I'm glad I did, 'cause she ended up saving my butt from this guy in a mask, and then she taught me how to fight. And how to use magic," Lea explained.

"You taught him how to fight? And how to use magic?" Shiloh asked, seemingly alarmed. She paused for a moment, before finally saying "And you crashed… How 'not from around here' are you, exactly?"

I got the feeling that she knew about there being other worlds.

"Um, I'm from another world. A nice place, called The Land of Departure. I got here on a glider, or, essentially, a morphed Keyblade. Why, you been to other worlds?"

"No, but a couple of travellers came through when I was twenty-two, they knew magic, and they carried what they called 'Keyblades', so… I suppose this isn't anything too new for me."

Travellers with Keyblades…

"Did they have a kid with them, by any chance?" I asked.

"Yeah, actually, about eighteen months old, and she had her mother's eyes. Gold isn't a very common colour, you know."

I gawked.

Lea gawked.

I gawked some more.

Shiloh. Knew. My. Parents.

And apparently me, too.

"You… You met my family!" I gasped.

"Yeah. You three stayed for about a month before going back to Departure. During which time, your mother became good friends with my older sister and I. And you two were friends, too," She smirked, looking at Lea and myself.

We were still gawking. Why didn't I remember any of this!

"Look, awkward moment, I know, but come in, it'll get cold soon..." She trailed off, before tilting her head to one side. "Why are you all wet?"

"We had a water fight in the Outer Gardens… But it helped me to learn magic, so it was worth it!" Lea laughed, shrugging away the old subject.

"Okay, then come in and get warm, I've just put the lasagna in the oven. Pyra, you're welcome to stay if you want to."

She walked inside, followed by Lea. He nodded once at me, then motioned for me to come in. I did so, still slightly uncomfortable with staying in an almost-stranger's house.

Well, okay, not really strangers. But I couldn't remember meeting them as an infant, so, you get my drift.

The house was warm and inviting, with the ceiling lights glowing a warm yellow, and the walls covered in photos. There was a fireplace to one side of the room, which seemed to be the lounge room, and it was home to a crackling fire, with the mantelpiece holding several little clay sculptures. There was a delicious, lasagna-like smell wafting in from the kitchen.

I could feel myself grinning. Suddenly, the prospect of staying the night wasn't as awkward. The place reminded me of my own home in the caves of Departure.

I put my bag and boots down by the door, then took off my katana and put it down next to my bag. I then rummaged around in my bag for my towel. Once I found said towel, I enlarged it from its previously shrunken size, and dried my hair, making sure not to get it caught on the serrations in my armour. I wandered through to the kitchen, which, thankfully, was just next to the lounge room, and leaned against a counter. "You know, you have a really nice house," I said, looking at Shiloh, who was steaming vegetables on the stove.

"Thanks. It's a little cluttered at the moment, wasn't really expecting to have a guest, but-"

"No, actually, I don't mind, I like a bit of organised chaos. Reminds me of my place back home," I mused, inhaling the lasagna smell. "I'm sorry if I'm being a bit of a burden."

"Not at all, you're welcome to stay here. You're Katzia and Eraqus' daughter, after all."

"Thanks," I grinned, nodding thankfully.

"So how are your parents, nowadays?"

"Um… Well. About my mother…" I began.

"This can't be good, go on," Shiloh sighed, turning away from her vegetables.

"She passed away when I was six, she was really sick with fever."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it, It's been nine _whole_ years, people move on. My dad has, and so has my little brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, Drake. He's twelve. He's really cute, he looks so innocent!"

"Awww!"

"And Dad, well, he's the teacher at the Keyblade Academy in our world. He takes great pride in his work, he's got some pretty cool students."

"Cool. Hey, since you're here, could I get you to give me a hand with grating the parmesan?"

"Sure!"

I helped with dinner for a while, and then Lea came into the kitchen to help out, too. He got the lasagna out of the oven, Shiloh dished everything up, and I put the parmesan on the top. It was almost as If I'd managed to become a part of the family within one day.

Weird, but cool.

We all sat down at the table (something I hadn't done in presence of an adult for a LONG time), and discussed random things while eating.

"So, do you like sports, Pyra?" Shiloh asked, scooping a mouthful of lasagna into her mouth.

"Yeah… I'm into martial arts and baseball, and I was part of my world's track and field team, for javelin, long jump, high jump, 100, 200, 800 metre sprints, 1500 metre run and the steeplechase," I answered, "and I'm pretty good at rock climbing, too."

"Wow, very sporty," Lea smirked.

"Yeah, impressive," Shiloh remarked.

"So what about you, Lea?" I mused.

"Ummm… Basketball, soccer, discus, 100 and 200 metre sprints, long jump and high jump. I like swimming, but I don't compete."

"Hey, I like swimming! There's _heaps_ of water at the base of the mountains in my world, and, apparently, there's a whole ocean in a world called Never Land. I should show you some time."

"I'll hold you to that," Lea smirked, pointing his fork at me. "But until then, the entire _city_ is surrounded by water, so that should do for now."

"Yeah. And I'd love to see the caves… I used to live underground, so I know all the safety stuff."

"Um, Pyra? Last time people went there, they never came back. No one. Remember me telling you this?"

I suddenly remembered what he'd said on the way here.

Woops.

Might have touched a nerve there…

"Sorry… Um, if you want, I could go see if I could find some clues as to what happened?"

"Nah, I've just met you, I don't want to lose another friend any time soon. Especially not a new one."

"Okay, what happened with Isa _this _time?" Shiloh asked suddenly.

Isa?

"He got all touchy about it when I wanted to go find what looked to be a shooting star from a distance, the falling object that actually turned out to be Pyra. And I think he _may_ have completely snapped this time. He said he wasn't coming back. Or something like that."

"Wait, who's Isa?" I asked.

"My ex-best friend. He was too… pushy. Always wanted to organize things, and keep to the plan. And he paid me out _ALL THE TIME_! Who wants a friend like that? Anyway, we'd been fighting over petty things a lot lately, and, well, we still enjoyed ourselves doing whatever we did, but it was a little awkward turtle…" He explained, putting his fork down and making the awkward turtle gesture with his hands.

"You should have given him the awkward palm tree in a storm. That way, you wouldn't have nearly been killed by Vanitas earlier, 'cause you two would be chillin' like villains doing whatever you were gonna do today."

"Um, _ALMOST KILLED_!" Shiloh asked, exasperated, dropping her cutlery.

"I thought he said something about me, and I quote, 'saving his butt from a guy in a mask'? He _didn't_ get killed, and that's what matters. I mean, sure, it was probably half my fault he got into the whole mess to begin with, but I also got him out of it."

"Um, what's an awkward palm tree in a storm?" Lea whispered.

"Show you later," I replied.

"Look, you just keep him in one piece, okay? He's pretty much the only family I've got left, and it's the same for him, so you gotta promise that you'll teach him well," Shiloh groaned, leaning on her hand.

"By the way, do you want to know _why _I'm teaching him?"

"Enlighten me."

"I want him to come with me to find my friends. They left Departure a week ago, and they recently passed through here, and I thought that because Lea met one of them, and because he's cool, it might be good to bring him along. Besides, who doesn't want to see other worlds?"

There was a brief pause.

"… If that's your way of asking if he can come along, then I can't see why not. It'll be an experience." She looked at Lea. "Do you want to see other worlds?"

"OH HELL YEAH!" He grinned.

"Then get packing. Sounds like you'll be leaving soon," she smirked, glancing at me.

I grinned. Tomorrow was gonna be one damn hardcore training session, if Lea was going to come with me.

We took the plates into the kitchen and put them in the sink, before I set up on the couch, swapping my armour for my jacket while no one was looking (I hate when people try to sympathise. It's only a scar, I mean, jeez). I wished the other two a good night, before going to sleep.

That night, I dreamed of a barren plain, surrounded by tall cliffs. I was in my armour, Keyblade in hand for some odd reason, and I could see a silhouette in the distance. It was almost as if the silhouette was glitching out, switching forms every few seconds.

First, the silhouette became Vanitas, holding his Keyblade by his waist.

Then it became Ventus, also holding his Keyblade. The Keyblade seemed to flicker a little.

… What?

I awoke with a start, then realized I was looking at an unfamiliar ceiling. I sat bolt upright, before I realised I was in Shiloh's living room, still on the couch. What was that dream supposed to mean? Was that supposed to be me remembering about the combining-thing that Xehanort mentioned?

Well, it made no sense to me.

I got to my feet silently, and crept over to my bag, fishing out a watch. It was 6:30 in the morning. I peered out from behind the curtains of the living room, to see the dawn slowly spraying its colours over the horizon.

I quickly donned my boots, and snuck out the door into the cool morning, quickly scaling the side wall of the house to get a better view. I jumped onto the roof in a quick, almost silent flip, then tip-toed up to the highest point of the roof.

I loved watching the sunrise. Or the sunset. Either worked, they were both really pretty.

Wow. Pretty. Don't use that word all that often.

Once the sun had graced the horizon, letting the world know it was here by bathing it in warming rays of light, I went to go climb down. I peered over the edge of the roof, to find myself looking in a window. Lea's window. He looked comfy, all wrapped up in his quilt.

Heh, too bad.

I leaned over the edge of the gutter, rapping loudly on the windowpane. "WAKEY WAKEY!" I laughed, as he awoke with a start, rolling over, frowning at me. "You shouldn't sleep with your curtains open, I might do things like this more often if I can see you're still asleep!" I grinned, before dashing back over the roof and jumping off just above the door. I walked in to find Lea standing before me in trackies and a singlet, hair sticking up in odd places.

"What the hell!" He asked groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Get ready, it's time to train!" I smirked, "put on some proper clothes, have some breakfast, and grab your chakrams. Today is the day that you'll master the use of these weapons, and you'll use them in a combat situation!"

"Are you insane! It's not even seven in the morning!"

"No, I'm not, or at least, I don't think so, and I'm fully aware of the time. It's best to train in the morning, that way you can avoid getting all boiling hot and sweaty in the afternoon sun. And, considering you're quite new to the whole weapon thing, we might just need to use the morning coolness to our advantage. Now go, get ready, I'll do the same, and we can set off to the Outer Gardens."

Lea groaned sarcastically, before turning around. After only a split second, however, he'd spun back round to face me. "By the way," he snickered, "you have a massive cowlick… You look kind of like Ven with your hair like that!"

He quickly turned and briskly walked away, before I could say anything. I dashed over to the nearest reflective surface (being the TV), and examined myself in the glass.

Dammit, he was right. I. Hate. Cowlicks. The only downside to this hairstyle, seriously.

I exchanged my hoodie for my armour, making sure that Lea hadn't ninja'd his way in here, and I pulled on my purple-blue fingerless gloves. I fastened a watch around my right wrist, pulled the cuff of the glove over it, then picked my still-working-on-it weaponry for the day.

'My lance and my greatsword ought to suffice', I thought to myself, 'I'm only going to couple them with a crossbow, anyway.'

I used the magnet on the back of my top to hold the greatsword, slung a quiver of crossbow bolts over the sword, and chose to just carry the lance. No sooner had I done this, Lea had emerged from his room in an outfit nearly identical to the day before. The only real difference was that he wasn't wearing his scarf.

"Dude, you can't just _shun_ the _scarf_," I joked, "I mean, it's just so awesome! It's gold!"

"I'm probably going to end up getting rid of it at some point during the day, anyway, so I thought I'd just leave it here. You had breakfast yet?"

"Hm? Nah, I didn't want to invade your cupboards without knowing what you guys were willing to call breakfast."

"Bananas are good for breakfast," Lea smirked, putting on a commercial-guy voice, "because they're high in protein and other vitamins and minerals, and it's just the right kind of fruit to start your day!"

Before I could stop myself, I'd released an odd sound I'd not _once_ let escape my lips.

Did I just… _giggle_?

… Jesus, what was wrong with me!

As soon as I'd regained my composure, I smiled, and took a banana from the fruit bowl that sat on the counter. Lea did the same, then put it down, and (I kid you not) _summoned_ his chakrams.

"Should I be able to do that?" He asked.

"Um… I suppose it just means you're a natural? The only things I were able to summon the day after first learning some of the techniques were my scimitars…" I mused. "You're gonna be a fast learner."

Several hours of training later, and Lea pretty much had the techniques you need to use the chakrams successfully down pat. And I'd reached the stage where I could summon my lance. What a strangely effective training session.

"Okay," I began, un-summoning my lance. I checked the time. 11:00. "It's nearly midday, so we should probably get some food. Easiest way to get Munny to buy lunch: defeating Unversed."

"Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten about that," Lea mused, "when I ran into some yesterday, they dropped about 6 Munny after I defeated them." He rummaged around in his pocket, pulling out a few Munny spheres. "Why do they have Munny, anyway?"

"I'm not completely sure…" I answered, thoughtful, "maybe they stole it from the moogle stores. Do you have the holo-moogles here?"

"Nah, we have a real moogle here, he owns the entire holo-moogle franchise, so beat that."

"You're kidding."

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

I looked at Lea. He looked exhausted, but his expression was solemn but for the one eyebrow he had raised. "Kind of. If you consider looking slightly sarcastic to be 'not kidding.'"

"Well, if I took you to see the real moogle, and we kicked some Unversed-butt on the way, maybe-"

"OH, MY GOD!" I shouted, with a sudden realisation. "Lea, We're gonna need to kick a LOT of butt on the way…"

I saw his face twist a little in confusion. It looked funny. "What? Why?" He asked.

"Today's the day you get your armour."


	6. Chapter Five: Radiance

Chapter Five – Radiance

"Do I _really_ have to wear this?" Lea asked, lifting a corner of the red and black leather cape attached to the back of his armour. He dropped it, then flicked at one of the metal plates.

"Yes. We need to get you used to it before we start travelling, 'cause this is what you'll be wearing in transit between worlds," I smirked. "And it can't _possibly_ be heavy, 'cause it's made from orichalcum and mythril."

"It's kinda pokey, though," he said thoughtfully, "I mean, look at yours. You could spear someone's eye out on those elbow plates."

"That's the whole _point_," I grinned, kicking gently at my helmet, which was on the ground. "If you lose your weapons, you can just smash them with your armour!" I did a quick spin, my gold and black cape swishing out behind me. "You can't not love it!"

I summoned my crossbow, pulling a bolt from my quiver (which was now slung underneath the cape), and loaded it carefully.

"What are you doing with that?" Lea asked, sounding a little alarmed.

"Our next training exercise. Stealth attacks. We have to try to attack each other whilst staying hidden, and also make sure we're well enough concealed to avoid being seen," I explained. "You pick your own starting place. I've equipped the helmets with communication systems, so we know when to start and what not. I really put it there so we could talk easily over the drone of the glider, but it should work for this, too."

"Aah. So it's like hide and seek?"

"Sort of. More like hide and seek chasey, but you can move around more in this version."

"Okay, cool," Lea smirked. He picked up his helmet, and turned to walk off. "I guess I'd better go find a spot to start from then. When do we start?"

"Five minutes sound good?" I asked, an evil smirk slowly gracing my face.

"Not really, but okay."

With that, he walked off.

And I'm not sure why, but that fact disappointed me.

I pulled on my helmet, then tested the comms unit. "Lea, can you hear me?"

There came a crackling noise, and then Lea spoke. "Why, yes. Yes I can. And can you hear me, madam?"

I surpressed a laugh. "Why, but of _course_ I can, good sir," I sniggered, playing along, "as clear as day!"

"You moving yet?"

I quickly scaled the side of the Command and Synthesis store, until I was running along rooftops. "I am now."

"Sweet. How long we got 'til we begin?"

"'Bout three minutes," I smirked, carrying my crossbow carefully as I ran, making sure not to fire the bolt by accident. "So, until then, Pyra out!"

"Right. Lea out."

I ran for a little longer, until I realised that I could see Lea from where I was. I crept behind a chimney, crouching as I peered around the side. I readied my crossbow.

"In position?" I asked, aiming for one of the plates on his shoulder, one that the bolt would bounce off of, without doing any harm to Lea.

"All set," he replied, turning so that his back was to me before summoning his chakrams. Perfect. "And you?"

"Ready to go," I mused, evil grin returning. "On three?"

"Sure."

"Okay. One," I began, adjusting my aim one last time. "Two… THREE!"

I fired the bolt, before darting back behind my chimney to reload. As soon as I'd done so, I bolted over the top of the roof, skittering down the other side. I leapt for a wall, flipped onto it, then ran quickly along it until I reached another row of rooftops.

"Damn you, Pyra!" Lea laughed.

"Come on, Lea, get your head in the game!" I sniggered, finding another vantage point. He was on the move now, running in the direction that the arrow had come from. I slinked around the edge of a second storey expansion, watching as he whizzed past. I snuck out from behind the wall, aimed for an elbow plate, then fired. Again, I darted for cover, reloaded, then moved. I should probably move first, then find cover and reload, but I didn't.

"AGAIN! Really?" Lea sounded exasperated.

I scaled the edge of the building. "Naturally," I laughed, flattening myself against the roof. "Come find me if you dare."

Of course, Lea ran right around the little second story expansion without even looking up. I propped myself up on my elbows, aimed for one of the plates that stuck up from the sides of his helmet, and released the bolt. I watched and listened as it bounced off of the armour, pinging loudly as it did.

I then leapt into a backwards spin, and my feet hit the ground running. There was silence from Lea this time, leading me to believe that I'd given away my position, and that he could see me. I darted around a corner, before shimmying up a trellis covered in plants. From there, all it took was a hop, step and a jump to get to the outer wall of the city again. I could see the Outer Gardens, just across the lake that the city seemed to be floating on.

Now, I'm not sure about you, but having grown up in a land where there are cliffs with lakes at the bottom, I _love_ jumping into water from high up. And there's even a way to make your armour completely waterproof, so it becomes temporary scuba gear.

I tapped the base of my helmet twice, and I felt it meld to the rest of my armour. It made me a little dizzy, but I could deal with dizzy. I dived off of the edge of the wall, cape fluttering as I hit the water.

I looked around. There were fish here, big ones. I swam silently to the edge of the garden, grabbing the stone wall built around it. I took one last look at the fish. Some of them looked kind of like Unversed…

That was the exact moment I scrambled out of the water, and the exact moment that a piranha-like Unversed leapt at me, gnashing its little fangs. I drew my greatsword, and smacked it as hard as I could back into the water.

I didn't know that there were fish Unversed… Maybe they were a once off…

I quickly dashed to the fountain in the middle of the garden, and tapped at each side. When I went to tap on the wall of the side that faced the stairway to the main square, my hand fell through nothingness. It was the secret passage that Lea had been talking about.

I peered through the doorway, then made my way down the hidden staircase that I saw. It came out into a large, corridor like room, with a circular shaped balcony at the foot of the stairs. There was a large pipe, with some broken chains lying at the bottom, looped around it, and there was blood in the centre of the balcony. I quickly moved over to it, curious.

It was then that I realised that there was darkness lingering about here. According to my father, traces of darkness linger for a few days if it's been used to attack someone. Meaning that someone had used dark powers here recently.

I touched the blood with the tip of one of my fingers, then looked at my glove. It now had a slightly reddish tinge where I'd touched it, but the blood had felt sticky. So whatever had happened here had happened quite recently. The earliest it could have happened would have been just before I got here yesterday…

"Hey, are you okay?" Lea's voice came from the comms unit in my helmet. "You were mumbling something about blood…"

"I was mumbling?" I asked, quickly skirting away from the blood on the floor, and climbing up the pipe with the chains around it. "I didn't realise… Sorry!"

"So what's with the blood thing? Did you hurt yourself?" His voice was mocking. "You shouldn't have dived into the lake, you know-"

"I'm fine. I didn't hurt myself at all. But apparently someone did, quite recently, actually, within the past two days."

"What makes you think that?"

I realised that telling him could give away my location – the complete opposite of what I wanted from this hidden room. "Nothing…" I said forcefully, making it sound as if something had definitely happened. Oops. "Don't worry about it, it was just blood."

"Whatever you say…" He said in a sing-song voice.

I finally reached the top of the pipe, and chose to survey the room. I could just see the bottom of the corridor, which had a solid-looking stone floor. A man with long, dark blonde hair in a white lab coat was surveying something. He seemed to be being followed by a young child, also in a lab coat, who had dark blue hair which shimmered as if it were metallic. Standing a couple of metres away was another man in a lab coat, also blonde, but more so than the other, with something on his face which I could only guess was a beard, and a red scarf draped around his shoulders. He seemed to be observing the other two.

Suddenly, there were footsteps coming from the stairs. I pressed myself flat against the surface of the pipe, and loaded my crossbow. I waited.

It was Lea. He seemed to do the same thing I'd done: see the blood, walk over to it, look at it. He didn't linger as I had, he obviously couldn't sense the darkness hanging about, and he didn't touch it, either, but he must have known that this was what I'd meant by mumbling about the blood. He looked around, then over the edge of the balcony. He watched the people for a while.

And during that 'while', several Unversed sprung up behind him, and decided to try and ambush him from either side.

_Not_ happening.

"Lea," I began quietly, "don't panic or anything, but there are Unversed trying to sneak up on you. On my mark, turn and run straight for the staircase, got it?"

I watched as he nodded slowly.

I readied my crossbow, aiming it for the patch of blood in the middle of the balcony. "Okay, then. _NOW_!" I said forcefully, still watching Lea as he sprinted past my point of aim ad up the stairs. "Mind your ears," I warned, before shouting at full volume. "_FIRA_!"

I released the bolt, watching as the tip burned dangerously. By the time it struck the ground and exploded, the Unversed had _juuust_ reached the bloody patch on the floor. The slowpokes were caught in the blast, and most were sent flying. The others staggered forwards for a little way, then fell over and vanished, leaving Munny behind.

The people way down the bottom of the corridor looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the explosion. The child looked up, as most children have a habit of doing, and somehow, I'm not quite sure, saw me. I shimmied back quickly, as he pointed in my direction. _They can't see me, they can't see me, they can't see me…_

I heard a shout, before they all rushed towards an elevator-like contraption that seemed to be powered by water. _Damn, they must have turned just before I hid_, I thought, quickly scrambling over the edge of the pipe and sliding down. There were still little flames everywhere from the blast, and I had to jump to avoid some of them. I quickly sprinted up the stairs, taking them three at a time.

"Pyra," came Lea's voice, "you might want to run faster…"

"Why…?"

"The castle guards. They're running towards the fountain."

… Crap.

I had only just reached halfway up the stairs (where the stairway turned and went back up towards the fountain) when I saw two figures running towards me: one with long, black, dreadlocked hair (with sideburns) and purple eyes, carrying a blue and silver lance, and one with brown hair and dark eyes, carrying a tomahawk. Both wore matching uniforms.

I turned tail and ran back towards the balcony, only to be halted by the two men and the child. The man with the scarf looked significantly older than the one with no beard. And the child had dark, tormented-looking eyes.

I looked between the two groups of people. The scientists and the guards. The guards and the scientists. I was surrounded but for the side of the stairway with the railing.

I gathered up my cape in one hand.

"What is the meaning of causing chaos in my city?" asked the man with the beard.

"There were monsters-"

"A likely excuse," interrupted the man with the dreadlocks and purple eyes. "There are no monsters in the city of light."

"Look, I'd really love to argue with you, but now isn't the best ti-"

"Maybe we should take her in for experimentation, sir," said the long haired scientist. "She seems to be quite an… intriguing… character. And her armour could be interesting to test, too."

He seemed to be probing me with his icy blue eyes. Not a pleasant feeling, I tell you.

"Silence, Even," said the bearded man, "we will not be experimenting on humans."

"Do we take her into custody, instead?" Asked the brown-haired, tomahawk-wielding man.

"Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I really gotta go," I sighed, jumping over the railing. I released my cape after a split second, once I was certain that nobody could grab a hold of it. From the railing, it looked to be around a seventy-metre drop. I was right.

I could take that.

"Dilan, after her!" came a young voice. I heard a few gasps of amazement. Maybe the child never spoke?

"Aero!" I smiled, casting the spell beneath me, performing my usual dive in, shoot out technique. I landed in a crouch. I spun around, then looked up to see the dreadlocked man screaming down towards me, lance in hand.

Okay, this was _not_ supposed to happen.

I sprinted for the opposite end to the one I'd seen the bearded man, the scientist 'Even' and the child working at before, noting the positions of possible handholds in the wall. I saw a door at the end of the corridor. Brilliant. I looked over my shoulder.

Dilan, the dreadlocks guy, had used the same landing technique as I did.

… Oh, shit.

I summoned my lance as I approached the door, just in case it was locked. Which it was. "Damn… Fira!" I exclaimed, attempting to melt the old school padlock. I checked how close Dilan was again. Too close. I wouldn't have time.

I abandoned my attempt to melt the lock just in time to block his first lance swipe. I pushed him back, then attacked with all the force and concentration I could muster.

"Pyra!" came a voice, through the comms unit in my helmet. Lea. "Pyra, what's taking you so long?"

"They boxed me in. I'm currently fighting the dreadlocked one, Dilan."

"Shit."

"I know-"

"Mumbling to yourself is the first sign of madness, little girl," Dilan growled, lunging at me with his lance, "are you weakening already?"

"Oh, far from it, my good man, I'm just getting warmed up!" I laughed, thankful he couldn't see my scowl through the one-way transparent mythril helmet piece. "Fira!" I yelped, a fireball shooting from the tip of my lance. It hit him square in the chest, making a strange sounding thump noise. And his shirt… It didn't catch alight.

That didn't usually happen.

"Hah," he laughed, "did you really think you could stop one of the castle guards with a simple fireball? You _have_ to do better than that, little girl."

"Sorry, but I was unaware that the castle guard wore fireproof uniforms. I'm not from around here, you see. But I can fight like _hell_!" I lunged madly at him, twirling and slashing and jabbing with my lance, dealing a flurry of blows to his torso. He stumbled backwards, but, strangely, wasn't winded.

Again, not normal.

"Again, you'll have to do better than that," he smiled sadistically, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

The last thing I saw was his lance moving towards my head, then I was out. Cold.

And, may I just say… I hate the cold.

...

I awoke in what looked to be a study, propped up in a seated position against a wall. Someone had deactivated my armour, and had somehow gotten the arm piece off of my arm without me coming to. Probably that 'Even' guy. Fudgedammit, now my scar was visible.

"I see you've woken up, child," came a kind voice. I looked up. The bearded man had blended right into the background before, probably due to the furnishings in the study. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad, considering I was hit in the head. Thank god for armour, hey?" I joked.

He nodded.

"Speaking of armour, where's my arm piece?"

"Even took it, he wanted to see how it worked. But it wasn't fully operational without the boots or the waist piece, and I figured that a girl of your age wouldn't want a strange man taking things from your body while you slept. So I told him not to bother, and I have the armour piece here," he explained, producing my armour from the top of a set of drawers. He passed it to me carefully. "Before you leave, however, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

I pulled my armour back on. It was cold from where it had been exposed to the air. "Go on," I answered, making sure it hadn't been tampered with.

"Were there really monsters? Was that really why you caused such a racket?" The man questioned, his expression serious. "I mean, there have been monster sightings reported recently, but nobody believed them."

"Yes. There were monsters. They were posing a threat to a friend, so I told him to run so that I could neutralise the problem," I explained.

"I see…" he mused, thoughtful. " Next question: where was that armour made?" He asked. "You said you aren't from around here, or so said Dilan, my lance guard. Yet everyone from this world would know of the strange, flame retardant uniforms the guards wear. Would you care to explain?"

I sighed. Here we go again. "It was made in a world known as The Land of Departure. It's where I was born, and it's where I lived up until two days ago. That's why I know nothing of your world's military uniforms."

"Ah," sighed the man, "I once knew a man from Departure. He was kind. He had a good sense of right and wrong. I never met his wife and child, but I assume they were good people. How old are you, may I ask?"

"Fifteen. I turn sixteen in October."

"Makes sense. Tell me, did your father have black hair and black eyes?"

"Why is it that everyone in this world knows my dad?" I smirked, standing up.

"Well, he certainly made an impression. That blade he carried… It saved us many a misfortune."

"The Keyblade?"

"That would be the one."

"My brother and I have Keyblades, too. So did our mother."

"A genetic inheritance?"

"Usually, but people can inherit the skill if they touch the blade as a child. Or so I've heard." I produced my Keyblade. "This is mine. I'm not too good with it, and I prefer to use other weapons, but when used correctly, they can pierce anything, unlock anything, and block any strike."

"Interesting. You may now leave, if you so wish. Wouldn't want to keep that boy waiting, would you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What boy?" I asked. Surely he couldn't mean Lea.

"The boy who was trying to talk to you through your helmet. He sounded worried. Especially when we explained you were unconscious."

"Huh. Well, no, no I wouldn't." I turned to leave, easily finding the door. "Wouldn't want to destroy a new friendship."

"One last question?"

"If it's quick…"

"What is your name, child?"

I hesitated. "Pyra," I answered, "And your name, sir?"

"Ansem. Ansem the Wise."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, then, Ansem the Wise."

"Mutual feelings, Pyra. I wish you well on whatever journey lays ahead of you."

"Thankyou. You too, sir."

And, with that, I left.

...

On my way out, I ran into the child with the bluey-purpley-metallic hair, and the scientist, Even. Both were carrying blue-coloured icecreams. Evan looked me up and down with his creepy eyes, before adressing me. "You have a curious burn on your arm, young lady. Maybe you could enlighten me as to how you sustained such an injury?"

"I'd really rather not go into it. I'm not one for recieving sympathy."

"Oh, but who said I'd be sympathetic, child? I was merely curious. I'm not fond of sympathy either, you see. My true passion lies in a wholly academic field."

"Your story is interesting, but I'd really rather not share."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged. "By the way, do you know any boys around your age with a heart of pure light? I thought you might be able to tell me."

I thought for a moment, then I realised. Ven. "Actually, I do know someone. Why's that?"

"No reason. But, next time you see him, could you possibly get him to come see me? I'm most interested as to how he became that way."

"Sure…" I agreed hesitantly, before continuing on my way out. "Nice talking to you," I said in a dry monotone.

"Likewise… Come along, now, Ienzo," he spoke to the child, continuing on his way back towards Ansem's study.

That man had the potential to become a nasty piece of work…

"PYRA!" Lea cried, running over to me as I exited the castle, "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Nothing, I just hit my head on…" I struggled to pick an appropriate cause for my unconsciousness. I gave up in the end. "I was trying to escape the guards, but Dilan got me in the side of the head with his lance. When I woke up, Ansem the Wise asked me some questions, and I left."

I didn't mention what I'd heard about him being worried. Didn't want to embarrass new friends.

"Oh, right… I'm sorry, I feel bad for leaving-"

"Don't. You weren't hurt. Shiloh will be thankful it was me who got in trouble instead of you. And she'll be even more thankful that I got in trouble trying to keep you _out_ of it."

"I suppose…" He sighed.

For some reason, and I'm not sure why, a part of me felt happy that he was worried.

I snapped out of it quickly. "So, onto another subject, is Shiloh _really_ the only family you have? Just wondering," I asked.

"Well, I'm the only family that she has, and she likes to think it's the same for me, but I do have a cousin and a grandmother on my father's side. My other aunt, Melinda, died during childbirth, and my uncle Joss, my dad's brother, was involved in the caving expedition that never came back, but my grandma does a good job looking after my little cousin," he explained.

"How old's your cousin?" I asked.

"She's six. She's really cute. Want to meet her?"

"Sure, I can't see why not!" I smiled.

"Okay. Their house is this way," Lea instructed, seting off, gesturing for me to follow him. Which I did.

It turns out that the house was just across the other side of the castle gardens, in a street near the main square. Lea led me to a small house with a white door, before saying, "this is where they live," and knocking three times on the door.

There was a little wait, before a small girl with dark, pinky-red hair and huge blue eyes opened the door. She looked at Lea, then past him to look at me, then back at Lea. She giggled, then yelled back into the house. "Grandma! Lea's here! And he brought a friend!" She turned to Lea. "Hiya!"

"Hey, Kairi," he grinned, picking her up and giving her a hug. "How are you?"

"Gooooood~!" She exclaimed, in a sing-song voice. She pointed over his shoulder at me. "Who's that?"

I blinked several times, amused.

"That's Pyra. And, let me just tell you a little secret," he whispered, loudly enough for me to hear, "she can do _maaaaagic_," he grinned, looking over his shoulder at me. He looked back at Kairi. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

Kairi looked at me, wide eyed. I waved.

"Kairi?" came a voice from within the house. "Aren't you going to invite our guests in?"

"Oh! Okay!" Kairi called, squirming out of Lea's grip. "Come inside!" She grinned. She looked at me. "_Both_ of you!"

I nodded. "Okay, sure."

Kairi took us both by the hand and led us inside. She showed us into the living room, where an old woman with kind eyes and grey hair was sitting in an armchair, stiching a tapestry cushion. She looked up at all of us. "Hello, Lea. And who's this?" She gestured to me, smiling kindly.

"This is Pyra. She's a new friend of mine, and I thought it would be cool if she met you two," he explained.

"Oh! Well, that's nice of you, funnily enough, I've just made some shortbread-"

"SHORTBREAD!" Kairi yelped excitedly. "YOU MADE SHORTBREAD!"

"Yes," smiled Kairi and Lea's grandma, "didn't you smell it? I brought it out of the oven just fifteen minutes ago, you can go eat some if you want."

"THANKYOU, GRANDMA!" Kairi giggled, hugging the old woman, before running through to the kitchen.

I supressed a laugh.

"So, Pyra, what brought you to meet my grandson?" Asked their grandmother, setting her tapestry cushion aside.

"Umm… it's kind of a long story… It's difficult to explain… But it ended in both of us running for our lives from a psychopath in a mask," I mused, tapping my forehead with one finger.

"Really? Well, that certainly sounds exciting. Makes me remember when I was your age. Listening to wild stories was all we ever did. From our grandparents, of course, not our grand_children_ or their friends, but stories all the same."

"What kind of stories?" I asked.

"Stories of the Keyblade War."

I gawked. "You know about the Keyblade War!" I questioned.

"Yes. It was a terrible war, because way back then, before my parents were even a thought, there were hundreds of warriors who carried the Keyblade. Thousands, even. The worlds were once all part of one, larger world, and it was a world filled with light. Everyone loved the light. But one day, some of the world's poulation decided they wanted it for themselves. Some fought to capture the light. Some fought to protect it. And some fought for the treasures of the world: A blade forged by equal powers of light and darkness, the _X_-Blade, and the heart of the world itself, Kingdom Hearts. Eventually, the world was plunged into darkness. The only surviving light was in the hearts of children."

I noticed that Kairi had crept up behind us with the plate of shortbread, and was listening intently.

"So," continued their grandma, "The children somehow managed to pull the world out of the darkness. Unfortunately, while doing so, the intensity of the darkness had split it into many pieces, which is why there are so many smaller worlds today. But there is still pure light in the hearts of children."

"Wow," I sighed, "I knew there was a war, but I've never heard that story before."

"Did you like it?" Kairi asked, tugging on my glove to offer me a biscuit. I took one, nodding a quick thankyou.

"Yeah… It was interesting. I learned more about two things I'd only heard my uncle speak of before. Two things that…"

I trailed off, not wanting to worry their grandmother.

"Two things that what?" Lea asked.

"I'll tell you another time," I replied.

"Umm, okay."

"Anyway, I need to go put this tapestry away if we're going to sit and talk, I'll be right back," the grandma smiled, getting up and walking into another room. "Feel free to take a seat!"

I sat down on the settee, and Lea took a seat next to me. Kairi wriggled down in the middle. "Can you really do magic?" she asked, eyes glittering.

I nodded, cupping my hands in front of me. "Watch this," I grinned.

She watched intently as I created a small flame in the cup of my hands. "Can you teach me to do that?" she giggled.

"Maybe when you're a little older," I smirked, extinguishing the flame. "Though, you might be able to talk Lea into it," I chuckled.

"You can do magic too!" she bubbled, looking up at Lea.

He nodded. "I might teach you for your eighth birthday, how does that sound?"

"But that's SO FAR AWAY!"

"Not really. You won't forget, and neither will I, I promise."

Kairi frowned, but then nodded.

One thing I noticed sitting next to her… Her heart was purer than the hearts of any other children I'd met. I thought back to the stories my father told me of the Princesses of Heart. Maybe this girl was to become a Princess of Heart?

That… and…

Someone had given her the power to inherit a Keyblade. It wasn't a genetic trait… She had been passed the skill by someone with a Keyblade. Maybe by accident, I wasn't sure, but the power was there. I could feel the radiance pouring out of her like lava from a volcano.

...

We talked with Kairi and Lea's grandmother for about an hour, before leaving. It was a good afternoon, all in all.

We went back to Shiloh's house to find leftover lasagna sitting out, and a note saying _'Gone to Mila's, probably going to be back late. Don't party too hard. Save me some lasagne.' _

"Who's Mila?" I asked.

"An old family friend. She's having trouble getting over her divorce, so every now and then, Shiloh goes to visit her, and they talk for a good portion of the night."

"Ah, so I see. And she expects us to party?"

"Think about it. Two fifteen year olds, home alone, with a leftover lasagne, and a high definition soundsystem. And, let's face it, we have magic. I mean, mine's pretty basic, but we still have magic."

"Ah, okay, I get it. Does the sound system have an MP3 dock?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I have an MP3 player loaded with awesome stuff."

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Muse party?"

"You officially have epic taste in music. BRING ON THE MUSE!"

"Okay, just let me get out my MP3!"

About an hour later, after blasting 'MK Ultra' through the speakers about 4 times, and several other songs as well, we ate some lasagna, and started belting out the words to every song that came on. Like 'Sunburn', for example. Lea started doing Michael Jackson dance impersonations, which were bloody hilarious, and then I turned on a Passion Pit / MGMT playlist. Techno and Electronica music for the win. I mean, if my life had a soundtrack, it would probably be a mix of Passion Pit, Dead Letter Circus, Muse, MGMT, Paul Dempsey, Bag Raiders, Little Dragon and Little Red. Essentially, most of what we listened to that night.

After a while, I zipped into the bathroom to exchange my armour for my jacket, changed the music to Paul Dempsey's album 'Everything Is True', and curled up on the couch with a book on mythical creatures. Lea came and sat next to me, reading over my shoulder.

"Interesting book," he stated thoughtfully. "What one's your favourite?"

"I don't know… Probably the dragon, the Pegasus or the phoenix," I mused, checking the time on my watch. 10:30 PM. Late. Ish. No wonder I was getting drowsy.

"Is that because you'd like to fly? Or because the dragon and the phoenix are directly in relation to fire?"

"Both… I mean, I sort of _can_ fly, when I use my glider, but I want to be able to fly on my own… And, come on, who doesn't like fire?"

"Good point…" Lea yawned, wiping his eyes. "You're a pretty good singer, by the way…"

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. You got skills…" He yawned again, stretching his legs out.

Then _I_ yawned. Really, human empathy…

I hugged my book to my chest, still open to the page of the phoenix, as I slowly fell into the realm of sleep.

...

I arrived home at around 11:30 PM to see both Lea and Pyra asleep on the couch. Pyra was leaning on the arm of the couch, hugging a book about mythology, which was still open to where she'd been reading, and Lea, who looked as if he'd fallen asleep trying to read it himself, was leaning on her shoulder. An acoustic cover of 'Time To Pretend', originally by MGMT, was playing through the stereo, and the remote was on the floor by Lea's foot. I shook my head in amusement. Teenagers could be funny.

I wandered over to the couch, and gently pried the book out of Pyra's arms. It was open to a page explaining phoenixes, amongst a few other mythical beasts. I smirked, closing it, and placed it on the coffee table. I quickly took a glance at the lasagne dish, which had a fairly decent sized piece left in it. I smirked again, before going to turn off the music.

Pyra stirred a little, and I froze. She was just shifting a little. I relaxed.

I walked over to the linen press, and removed a knitted blanket my mother had made for me. I gently placed it over the two of them, before going to eat the piece of lasagne they'd saved me.

I wondered what they'd gotten up to. I could faintly hear a Muse song playing around two hours before. Maybe they were having a dance off. Or an air guitar competition. Or they could have been getting up to 'other stuff', but I doubted it, considering as they'd just met. Albeit for the second time, and neither seemed to remember the first time, but just met all the same.

I rinsed my plate, then watched them sleep for a moment.

I had a thought. I suppressed a laugh. Then I went to bed myself.

Ahh, teenagers.


	7. Chapter Six: Dragon's Den

Chapter Six – Dragon's Den

"Lea."

"Lea, wake up."

"Lea, get off of my shoulder."

"Lea, wake _up_!"

I awoke to find myself leaning on Pyra's shoulder. She was looking down at me, as if she didn't know whether to force me awake or just let me wake up of my own accord.

"You have a comfy shoulder," I groaned, squinting up at her.

"Thanks for noticing, but don't you remember what today is?"

"Um…" I racked my brain, trying to figure it out. "Tuesday?"

"Yes, but today's the day that we set off for a new world."

"It is?" I blinked a few times, sitting up properly. "You never told me that…"

"I didn't?" She looked unimpressed with herself.

"No, not that I remember…"

There came a call from down the hallway. "Bathroom's free, first in, first to shower," exclaimed Shiloh.

I looked at Pyra.

She looked at me.

She quickly grabbed her bag and sprinted for the bathroom, as I did the same, minus the bag. And still she beat me.

"That's not fair," I complained, banging on the door, "you were more awake than me!"

"You heard her," she laughed, locking the door, "first in, first shower."

"I'll get you for this," I mumbled jokingly.

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied, before I heard her turn on the water.

I ate breakfast in the time it took her to shower and get ready. I grabbed my scarf, a towel, and some fresh underwear, before knocking on the door. "You done yet?" I asked through the door, arranging my towel so as to hide the undies.

"Yeah, I'm done," she replied, opening the door, pulling up her arm piece. I could just see the outline of the scar I'd noticed a few days before.

"Hey, what's that on your arm?" I asked, as she slipped out through the door, and I made my way into the bathroom.

"Just my armour," she stated, not turning around, "I thought you knew that?"

I blinked several times, suspicious, before closing the door and having a shower. Maybe the water would clear my head.

...

After showering and getting dressed, I grabbed the armour pieces that morphed to make my full suit of armour. One went on my arm, and it had a round, metal plate at the top, the upper half of which had another (but spiky and not round) plate sticking up from it. The lower half of said armour piece had a few triangular plates emerging from it. The other piece was like a wrist guard, also for my arm. And then there were boot like things that went over my sneakers, so I didn't have the same 'won't grip wet stuff' problem as Pyra. The armour was silver with some goldey orange and red bits, and it looked pretty cool when it was activated.

"Hey, Lea, grab a bag and a bunch of stuff you want to bring with you, I'll shrink it down so it fits in there," Pyra called from the lounge room.

I fastened my scarf around my neck. I already had most of the stuff I wanted to bring.

And, yes, I know that could be taken in multiple ways, if you think about it. I don't care.

After all, that was kind of the point.

I went into my room and grabbed a rucksack, and packed it with clothes. Jacket, boardies, a pair of jeans, underwear, socks. I quickly put my MP3 in there, and my headphones. All done. Now I just needed to figure out how to get my sleeping bag in the rucksack…

"Allow me," came a voice from behind me. Pyra. "Mini," she stated abruptly, splaying her palm open in the direction of the sleeping bag. It immediately shrunk down to midget size, and it fit in the palm of my hand. She stuffed it down the side of my clothes, then shut the bag. "All packed?"

"Um… I suppose… I've got everything I want…"

"Good, let's go then," she grinned, peeling a banana. "Shiloh, we're leaving," she called, before making her way down the hallway.

"Wait!" shouted Shiloh, rushing out to meet us in the lounge. Pyra had already gathered her stuff from the night before, I noticed. "Are you going to look after him? Promise you will!"

"Yes, I promise," Pyra nodded, activating her armour, as I did the same, "always."

And, with that, we left the house, waving.

...

"So, what now?" I asked Pyra.

"I summon my glider, and we shoot off to another world. Easy as that," she laughed.

"Umm, how do you do that?"

"Like so," she sniggered, summoning a blade that looked similar to the wooden sword that Ven had fought me with. It looked as if fire and lightning had swirled themselves together and then forged a blade. She then threw said blade backwards into the sky. There was a flash, and it returned as a glider, that looked as if it could easily seat four people. She jumped onto the glider, taking a place at the front of the flying vehicle. "Jump on the back," she instructed, "let's hope my driving's gotten a little better!"

I jumped onto the back of the glider, and gripped the cool metal tightly. "Where're we going?"

"Enchanted Dominion!" She stated, before we took off.

I don't think I'd ever seen the city look so… for want of a better word… pretty.

...

"Hey, Lea?" Pyra began, "we're almost there, see that world just there?"

She was pointing to a large, round-ish looking world, where I could see a castle, and a river flowing between some hills. There was another, darker looking citadel, to the world's south, with a mountain path leading up to it. "Yeah, I see it. How much longer, you reckon?"

"A minute and a half until touchdown, if that. Hold on!" She laughed, angling the glider down. It gained speed instantly, and we entered the world's atmosphere unharmed as yet. Now we just had to land.

God, help us all.

Thankfully, Pyra seemed to have learned from her crashdown in Radiant Garden, and the glider slowed to a halt several metres from anything potentially dangerous. And at least a foot off the ground this time. She hopped off, landing skilfully in a crouch, before turning to face me. I attempted the same. I actually managed it.

I was amazed by how much I'd changed in two days. Some people can be good for you, I suppose.

Pyra pulled out a map the moment we deactivated our armour. "Okay," she began, "do you want to go to the royal palace or some dragon lady's citadel?"

I smirked evilly. "The citadel sounds like it could be interesting. Let's go there first."

"You see, this is what I like about you," Pyra laughed, also smiling evilly, "you seem to go for the slightly more daring stuff right away. Shall we, then?"

Something about the first half of that sentence gave me butterflies. You can probably tell what.

"Sure," I grinned, trying not to show what was going on in my brain.

We set off out of the clearing we'd landed in towards a river, and followed a little valley until we reached the path up to the citadel. It was literally COVERED in Unversed.

Pyra's evil grin had gone all sadistic.

Fun.

She summoned a pair of scimitars as I summoned my chakrams, and we both charged the monsters at the same time. I took down most of the aerial creatures, whilst Pyra took the ground dwelling ones, and, eventually, we'd reached the citadel entrance.

She motioned for me to peer around one side of the gates, while she took the other. I nodded, moving to my right. I peered around the edge of the gate. There were… _Pigmen_? Pigmen. Really. And people with bird-like beaks, carrying crossbows.

I looked over at Pyra. She was readying her scimitars.

I smirked, taking a battle pose with my chakrams. She looked at me, mouthing the words 'on three,' before making the numbers with her fingers.

She held up a finger. One…

Two…

"THREE!" She screamed, leaping out from behind her side of the gate. "Thundara!" she cried, shooting lightning from the tip of her scimitars at some of the weird creatures. They all burst into individual green flames, before disappearing. These beings left no Munny, but that wasn't so bad. If they'd have dropped Munny, you'd have to go pick it up, and risk getting your butt kicked.

Ah, well.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by pigmen and birdmen. I swiped at a few with my chakrams, but the pigmen were being a little annoying. And by annoying, I mean that THEY HAD PIKES. And they were SHARP.

So, I decided to set them on fire.

I spun my chakrams in the palms of my hands, concentrating hard. "FIRE!" I grinned, practically spitting the word out, and fire came whizzing out from the middle of the chakrams, and homed in on the pigmen like missiles. I laughed as they burst into flame, then went to follow Pyra, who had moved to the other half of the courtyard. She was busy slaying the pigmen there, and she looked quite happy. I was bleeding a little from where the pigmen had jabbed me, but I didn't want to bother her, so I went to fight some of the other critters.

And, what do you know, we'd defeated all of the guards in record time, and although I was mentally exhausted from using magic (I now understood Pyra's plight – creating a second level barrier spell when using that kind of magic for the first time would have been TORTURE), I was proud, and I felt ready to handle anything.

"Alright, our first real, proper, out of your world battle," Pyra grinned.

Then she noticed my wounds.

"Aw, damn, Lea, you got hurt?" She sighed, her expression changing to one of slight concern, yet slight amusement at the same time. "You could have told me. Can I see?"

I lifted the edge of my singlet. The cuts weren't deep or anything. "I'm fine, they just sting a little. Nothing a bandage won't fix."

"They might get infected," She stated, crouching down to examine the cuts. "Plus, why bother with bandages when you have magic? I mean, sure, it can be a bit of a headache sometimes. But it comes in handy." She placed her hand over the wounds. "Cure," she said, her hand glowing green. The cuts stopped hurting, and I looked down to see that they weren't bleeding anymore.

"Thanks," I smirked, pulling my singlet down, "I gotta remember that one, huh?"

"It could probably come in handy," Pyra grinned, standing up. She was just that bit shorter than me, I realised. "Anyway, come on, let's explore inside," She smiled, wandering into the citadel. I nodded, following her inside.

The entrance hall was big and gloomy, and there was a huge hole in the floor. "Huh," I mused, "I didn't know these were still in fashion…"

Pyra giggled a little, before she seemed to halt herself. "Um, yeah," She said awkwardly, "I didn't know that either." I watched her face for a moment, noticed how it suddenly lit up. "You want to see what's down there?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" I laughed, stepping back from the hole's edge. "Ladies first?"

"Well, I'd hardly call myself one of those, but if you insist…" She laughed, jumping fearlessly down the hole.

Not a lady my left foot. She was probably one of the nicest girls I'd ever met. I mean, sure, she was a little rough around the edges, but she could sing, and she ate with cutlery. That was lady enough for me.

I swiftly followed her down the hole in the floor, landing in a neat crouch. I looked up to see that we were in a dungeon, you know, the kind with stone floors, stone walls, stone EVERYTHING, and only one torch in the wall.

I stood up to realise that Pyra was being dead still where she stood, face contorted into a mask of confusion and concern. I followed her line of sight until I saw him. The man in dark purple, dragon-like armour, who was sitting down, looking out through the barred window in the door of the dungeon.

"I thought I heard voices," he stated, turning around, "but you might want to get out of here. It's not the place for a couple of kids like yourselves to be running around."

"We aren't kids," Pyra said forcibly, but quietly. "We're _teenagers_, thank you very much."

"Sorry, then, it's not the place for a couple of _teenagers_ to be running around. Better?"

"Much better. Thank you."

"You're welcome," the man sniggered, seemingly amused. "Now, may I ask who you two might be?"

"I'm Pyra," she stated.

"I'm Lea," I nodded at the man. "Get it memorized."

He nodded back. "Kain," he said, "and I still say you should leave."

I noticed he was shackled to the wall. The shackles glowed a little, emitting a dull, emerald green glow. A darker green than the glow from Pyra's healing magic. "Why's that?" I asked, "don't want to have to share a dungeon cell?"

"That isn't funny."

"I didn't mean for it to be, I was just asking."

I noticed Pyra was over by the back wall, examining a lance. "This yours?" She asked, throwing it to Kain. "You might need it."

He caught it in his teeth, before prising the shackles open with it. I gawked.

"Thanks," he smirked, "just what I needed, but I still say you should go."

"We can handle ourselves, don't worry. But I say the first person we need to get out of here is you. How long have you been down here?"

"Don't worry about me; I can handle myself just as well as any warrior. But really, you should go."

"Give us one good reason why!" I chimed in, slightly peeved. "We just got here, and now some guy dressed in funny looking armour wants us to leave? You really think we're gonna do that?"

The man stood up, walked over to me, and stood a few inches from me, staring me down. "I'm not giving you a choice, _boy_. You can't stay here."

"He has a point, we did only just get here," Pyra stated. Kain looked at her. "We're looking for people. At least let us figure out if they've been here!"

Kain seemed to pause in thought. He stepped back from me. "Fine. But you have to do everything I say. Everything."

"Sure. Whatever you say."

"Alright," he began, "first, we get out of this dungeon. There's a padlock on the outside of the door, I should be able to reach it with my lance if I try."

"I could melt it."

"_What_?"

"I could melt it. I know magic," Pyra stated, reaching out through the barred window in the door. "Fira," she said quietly, but forcibly. A few moments later, she leaned on the door. It swung open to reveal a molten mess on the floor.

"You know magic," Kain mumbled, "brilliant, a teenage pyromaniac…"

"What?" Pyra asked, turning around.

"Nothing," Kain smirked.

Come to think of it, it kind of made me wonder what Pyra would be like if she got PMS…

I shuddered.

A cry of alarm came from the top of the stairs that twisted out from our right. "Those are the guards," Kain advised, "we need to get to the hall, quickly."

A pigman guard scurried down the stairs, holding his pike high. Kain threw his lance with deadly precision, spearing the guard through his chest. It burst into green flame, before vanishing. Kain took up his lance again, running up the stairs.

"Well, if we wanna stay…" Pyra mumbled, summoning her scimitars and running up the stairs after him. "Lea, you coming?" She called, pausing momentarily.

"Yeah, yeah… coming," I nodded, summoning my chakrams and following them up the stairs.

...

A few minutes later, and the guards were down, and we were in the hall. From where we stood, it was a giant, empty hall, but for multiple different coloured circles of light, radiating out from the floor. "Okay," I began, "Where do we go from here?"

"There's a purple and green portal light near that throne over there," Kain explained, "We need to find our way there."

"Should be easy enough," Pyra mused.

"Alright, let's go then," I laughed, taking a step forwards.

"Wait!" Kain exclaimed. And with a very good reason.

About a metre in front of me, a huge, daunting wall had emerged from the ground in a puff of green flames. I blinked several times, before turning around to face the others. "Okay, maybe we'll need to walk instead of run in here. Could be dangerous."

"Yeah, because, even though I'm usually all for danger, that was a _little_ close for my liking…" Pyra warned, tilting her head to one side and crossing her arms.

… She was worried?

… Didn't seem like her to me…

"Yes, we need to watch our step in here. There are guards constantly keeping an eye on this room, so watch your backs," Kain instructed. "I'll go see if I can find a way to deactivate the walls, you guys just try to get to the purple and green portal by the throne."

"Alright," Pyra nodded, grabbing my wrist and cautiously walking in the general direction of the portal. "I think it's this way."

I pulled my wrist free of her grasp, before quickly negotiating around a new wall. "Do you worry about me? You don't seem like the worrying type," I asked.

"Look, I don't like seeing people hurt, unless they're bad guys, and I'm helping to hurt them. Plus, you are a bit of a handful, I must admit," she smirked, "I mean, you're coming along pretty quickly for a rookie. And you're curious about EVERYTHING. Like me. Hence you'll probably like running off and exploring."

"Why's that a worry?"

"What happens when we have to-" she paused to skirt around a wall- "…leave? What if you aren't nearby? I really don't want to have to go find you. I'm pretty much a week behind the others, so losing time would be a bit of a bother." She paused again, before asking, "What do you make of Kain?"

"I don't know… He seems okay… Why?"

"I don't really trust him… He was so adamant on us leaving, and then when we finally convinced him to let us stay, he wanted us to follow his every order, and now he wants to split off and go do his own thing, while we find our way to that portal he mentioned. It's a little dodgy, if you ask me."

"I'm sure he has his reasons. Maybe he genuinely wants to help us out, and hence he's actually gone to find a way to deactivate the walls. He's probably just looking out for us. And he warned us about-"

There were guards blocking our path.

"Those?" Pyra guessed, pointing.

"Pretty much," I smirked, summoning my chakrams. "I got this," I laughed, leaping out at them, kicking their little pigman-butts until they were all gone, not sustaining one scratch. I could see a red portal a few metres ahead. I turned around.

Pyra looked at me, then started to clap. "Well done, young grasshopper, I can no longer call you a rookie. You beat a cluster of enemies, taking no physical damage. I have one thing to say to you," she smirked.

My heartbeat quickened. "What's that?" I asked, failing to hide the sudden onslaught of nerves in my voice.

She walked a little closer, then a broad grin stretched across her face. "Level up!" she laughed, reaching out to ruffle my hair a little.

I forced a laugh. That wasn't exactly what I was expecting…

"Anyway, I can see a portal," she smirked, "Let's see where it goes, huh?" She wandered over to the portal, crouching next to it.

I crouched down on the other side of it. I noticed that in the red glow, the scar on her shoulder stood out even more than it did usually. And there was a smaller, matching one on her neck. Really, where'd she get that scar!

"Um, Pyra, what's that scar on your shoulder?" I asked, out of curiosity.

"Hm? Oh, that, nothing, just a reminder for me to not to shoot magic into the wind. It's a good thing to learn, trust me," she nodded, smiling, but looking kinda sad. "Anyway, I'm gonna go through the portal, so hang tight, if I'm not back in five seconds, come after me, okay?"

"Why do you want me to wait here?"

"There could be a really difficult opponent, that's why. I don't want you getting hurt by an unexpected enemy, okay?"

"Your gesture is sweet, really, but you're treating me like a twelve year old. No offense."

"None taken. I do what I do 'cause I care about you and don't want you hurt. So please, just wait a little, okay? I'll be back in a second. If not, do what you have to do."

With that, she vanished into the portal. I heard someone swear from a little way away, and, sure enough, five seconds passed, and Pyra wasn't back. I jumped at the portal, rolling out of an identical, red portal, to see Pyra fighting off several guards. She was holding them back with her lance, of all things.

She must be into the whole irony thing. I dunno.

I watched as she took down a guard. Strangely, another one spawned in its place. I readied my chakrams, then threw one as hard as I could at the throng, taking out several of them. I caught it as it returned, then held it in my other hand, with the other one. I splayed my palm out at the group of guards, and yelled, "FIRE!"

As the fireball erupted from my palm and eliminated the guards that had been hit by my chakram, Pyra finished the rest of them with a brief dose of electricity. She grinned as they burned or got hit by lightning (or both), then looked around to see both me…

And the portal.

You know the one.

The purple and green one. The one we were looking for.

Pyra cupped a hand to her mouth before looking at me. "Kchhhhch," she laughed, making a radio noise, "we have found the portal, I repeat, we have found the portal!"

She then proceeded to fall down laughing.

And I really couldn't help but do the same. She's an idiot, I tell you, but an awesome one. An idiot in the best way possible.

Once we'd stopped laughing, she stood up. "HEY, KAIN," she yelled through the hall to the only clump of walls in sight, "WE FOUND IT! WHAT NOW?"

"GO THROUGH IT!" came his reply from the little cluster of walls. "THEN GO THROUGH THE ARCHWAY TO THE NEXT ROOM, THEN THROUGH THE ROOM, THEN OUT."

Pyra sighed. "YOU WERE TRYING TO GET RID OF US THE WHOLE TIME?"

"IT ISN'T SAFE HERE!" He replied, and there was a loud 'THUNK' noise, before all of the walls slid into the ground. Kain came running towards us. "Really, do I have to do everything the hard way?" He asked.

Before Pyra or myself could do anything, he was behind us, lance in hand, pointing it at us. "You two. Need. To _leave_," he hissed, pointing his lance at a large, gloomy looking archway. "Go through that arch, through the room there, out the door, and out through the gates. Don't come back. If Maleficent catches you-"

There was a loud crowing noise as a large raven with yellow eyes suddenly came from nowhere and started attacking us. It cawed loudly, sort of like it was an alarm, before Kain speared it. The bird fell limply to the ground, twitching slightly.

"Maleficent's raven…" Kain mused, "… She's here. Go, quickly!"

"Who the hell is Maleficent?" I asked loudly.

"WHO DARES INTRUDE ON MY CASTLE!" Thundered a loud, evil sounding voice, coming from behind us. We spun around to see a green flame erupt from the ground, before a grim looking woman appeared before us. She had a long black cloak, a staff with a green orb on the end, and… Horns?

"… Her. Now, do as I say… and run," Kain ordered, his voice remaining level.

"Never," Pyra grinned. "You think some weird dragon-lady's gonna scare me?"

"Oh," Maleficent smirked, "but I scared Ventus. Aqua, too. And Terra, well, he was ever so co-operative. It was thanks to him that I _could_ scare them. With the truth."

Kain looked slightly confused.

Pyra stepped forward a little. "What did you do to them?" She asked, her voice strong and clear.

"Oh, I did nothing, my dear. They did it themselves." Maleficent's voice was calm now, not like the demonic voice I'd heard before.

"Did what?" Pyra snapped.

"Well… Terra did a little something like this," Maleficent grinned sadistically, pointing her staff at Kain. He writhed in pain for a moment, as he seemed to be fighting something.

Then, suddenly, he was swathed in a purple-black glow, and he'd turned his lance on us.

"And then the other two did something not unlike what you two will have to do now."

Both Pyra and myself found ourselves stepping slowly away from Kain, and away from his lance.

"I'll take Kain, you take the dragon lady," Pyra murmured, gently nudging me with her elbow.

"Why do you get Kain?" I asked.

"More fighting experience. No offense, but as much as you're a natural, you really don't stand a chance against a Dragoon. Me neither, really, but I stand more of a chance. Plus, I know you can defeat Maleficent. And if you defeat her, the dark magic she's using on Kain might break, and he'll be all good again."

"Okay. So I take Maleficent and you take Kain. What if the spell doesn't break?"

"Run."

"Okay," I grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

With that, I lunged for Maleficent, chakrams held high.

...

I re-summoned my lance, preparing to attack Kain. I hesitated, before quickly un-summoning it, then pulling my katana from my bag, and fastening the belt around my waist. I removed the blade from its sheath.

I leapt at Kain, katana held straight in front of me. I was going to fight until I couldn't fight any more, and nothing could stop me.

...

I threw one chakram, watching as it arced through the air and connected with Maleficent's torso. As it rebounded and I caught it, I swung out with the other, the bladed tips of the weapon slashing bloody great holes in her cloak. She attempted to fend me off with her staff, but it wasn't working.

Then she teleported away to the other end of the room.

… What the?

...

Kain lunged for me, attempting to stick me with his lance. I could see a bloodied feather stuck to the end, and I remembered the raven. I dodged just in time, not wanting to end up the same way. I stood up fully, and he was coming at me again. I realised that his lance had ridges running along it, so I let him try to stab at me, catching one of the ridges with my katana. The point of the lance was inches away from my face.

… Shit.

"Fira!" I yelped as I pushed him away. I directed the magic to my blade, which quickly caught alight. I attempted a slash at his ribcage. He dodged.

A swipe at his arm?

Dodged.

… Maybe he was more out of my league than I'd originally thought…

...

I sprinted across the room to Maleficent. She was firing spells left, right and center, It was all I could do just trying to avoid them as I ran.

As I reached her, I attempted one of the jumps Pyra had taught me. 'Jump normally, and you'll go only a little way. But if you leap through your whole foot, you can pretty much defy gravity for a moment,' she'd told me. I rolled through my whole foot as I jumped, before sailing over Maleficent's head. I smirked, before slinging both of my chakrams at her, both connecting with her horns, denting them enough to make her cry out.

I landed in a crouch, then caught my chakrams as I stood up.

Pyra had been right. This would be easy.

...

I frantically dodged all of Kain's attacks, whilst trying to avoid my burning katana, and also looking for an opening.

_There_.

I lunged, katana aimed for his leg. I took a swipe, cutting tiny dents in his armour.

I imagined a baseball scoreboard. '_Kain – 1, Pyra – 0_', it would read.

I needed to find a way to pierce his armour, else that scoreboard would never show me a winning score. Well, it would. But it would be Kain's win. Or, technically, Maleficent's.

But I figured the only way to beat Kain would be to peirce his armour. To stab him.

Well, unless Lea defeated Maleficent.

If only I were a little less sympathetic, this would be so much easier.

...

She was weak now. I could tell by the intensity of her spells.

Unfortunately, my recently boosted stamina levels were slipping. I was running out of steam. I needed to end this quickly.

"Fire!" I projected my voice, throwing my chakrams as hard as I could at Maleficent, watching as they caught ablaze in the air. They practically swept her twenty metres across the hall before they came back like boomerangs. I disabled the magical flame encircling them just before I caught them, so as not to burn myself,

She staggered, then pointed at Pyra and Kain's ongoing battle. Pyra was bloodied and infuriated, and was shooting massive fireballs at Kain. "She's going to exhaust herself if you don't end me soon," she cackled, limping over to me. "Kill me."

I hesitated. I couldn't kill a person! Not a real, living, breathing person!

"Go on, child, finish me."

I realised then that her staff glowed with the same purple-black light as Kain did.

… Aha!

"Don't call me a child, dragon lady," I snapped, executing a roundhouse kick (one Pyra had shown me) which connected with her staff, splintering it. It stopped glowing. "I'm fifteen. Get it memorized."

...

Kain had struck several blows to my arms and legs, finally finding an opening in my dodging, enough to make my black skinny jeans look like distressed red and black jeans. There was blood on the floor, most of which was mine. There was even blood on my top.

And that was when I snapped.

You do NOT.

Get BLOOD.

On my TOP.

I leapt backwards a little way, pain ignored in my fury. "FIRAGA!" I shrieked, shooting a giant fireball from the tip of my blade. I watched as Kain ducked just in time to avoid it, then fired off another one. I was on a roll, using third level magic and not feeling it one bit. Maybe rage was my way of overcoming everything.

It was a shoot and miss affair, however – I was so enraged that not only could I not feel the drain of the magic, but I couldn't control it properly. Unless I concentrated.

Which I can really only do when I'm calm.

Damn.

So, I attempted to calm myself. I then fired one last fireball.

It hurt my brain a fair bit, but it hit Kain square in the chest, sending him flying. I quickly spared a glance at Lea.

He'd broken Maleficent's staff.

The glow around Kain swiftly subsided, and Maleficent stumbled to the ground.

I staggered a little, dizzy.

He'd actually done it.

...

I watched as Kain was finally hit by one of Pyra's fireballs, and was sent flying. At precisely the same moment that I had broken Maleficent's staff.

Also at that moment, Maleficent stumbled to the ground.

"No healing yourself now," I smirked, watching as the evil glow around Kain faded. "You can heal like non-magical people this time. Maybe it'll teach you a lesson."

"Lea!" Pyra yelled, clapping a little. "You did it! You really did!"

"I suppose I did, huh?" I smirked, walking away from the wounded Maleficent towards Pyra. I looked over my shoulder to see Maleficent vanish in her little puff of green flames, before turning back to see Pyra properly.

She was bleeding. A lot.

I rushed over, quickly examining any wounds I could see as she had done with mine. "Cure!" I said, running my palm over the wounds on her arm to see them quickly seal up perfectly.

"Thanks," she smirked, "I'll get the cuts on my legs."

"Proabably a good idea," I agreed, nodding quickly.

… What? Just 'cause I kinda' like her, you think I'd actually do that? Gee, thanks.

"Uhhh…" Came a voice from by the wall. Kain. "Those fireballs really pack some punch…"

"Third level spells really take it out of you though," Pyra winced as she closed her wounds, "I have a pretty bad headache right now…" She paused, then quickly rummaged in her bag. She pulled out an ether, and plopped it in her mouth.

There was an awkward silence. Which Kain broke. "Thanks," he nodded, standing up, "She used my own darkness against me. Thanks for bringing me back."

Pyra seemed to ponder this for a moment, her face a mix of shock, confusion, and thoughtfulness. "You're welcome," she spoke, her voice sounding disappointed. "Don't mention it."

"Though, you do know now what I meant by unsafe?"

"… Yeah. Don't worry, I think we learned enough about the people we're trying to find."

"Those people Maleficent mentioned?"

"Yeah. If you're still keen on us jumping ship, we could probably go now."

"Probably a wise choice."

"Okay. Nice to meet you, Kain."

"Likewise."

Pyra headed towards the huge, arch-like doorway into the room with the hole in the floor. She stepped around it whilst keeping her gaze set straight, as if she didn't know it was there, but was merely skipping around an imaginary rock. We reached the courtyard, only to be swarmed by guards. Pyra pulled her katana from its sheath, swiftly dispatching all that came near her, still walking, eyes dead-pan with the horizon.

Something was definitely up with her.

...

We reached the valley near the river in good time, due to the fact that anything that dared to approach Pyra found itself being eliminated within seconds. Maybe it had to do with the whole disappointed thing. Some people lose their will to fight when they're down. Maybe hers grew stronger.

Or maybe it had something to do with how creepily silent she was being, and how focused her gaze seemed to be.

Either way.

Once we reached the clearing by the stream, she sheathed her blade, and returned it to her bag. Only then was I prepared to risk whatever came from asking her what was up.

"Hey, did something happen in there? What am I missing?" I asked, looking her dead in the eye.

"My first battle with Vanitas… He shot a dark fireball into the air," she explained, "It exploded, and little traces of darkness went everywhere. Terra was in the middle of an examination, and I think that the fireball triggered the darkness in him. He failed the exam because of said darkness, and that may have plunged him even further into it. So… if I'm right…"

"Are you blaming yourself for someone else's dark power, as you put it?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I kind of accidentally started the battle against Vanitas, so…"

"Look, if Terra has darkness in him, it's his problem. Not yours. Don't worry about it."

"You serious?"

"Dead serious. Quit worrying."

She paused momentarily. "… Okay, I will. For now-"

There came a loud roaring noise from the direction we'd just come from, quite nearby, actually, and I found myself being torn out of the way as a large jet of green flame erupted from the mouth of the valley. I landed with a 'thud' on the ground, before looking up to see Pyra, katana in hand, crouched down by my side, staring at the large black dragon that had emerged from the direction of Maleficent's castle. It roared furiously.

"Can I worry about this?" Pyra yelled over the dragon's roar.

"Feel free," I replied, getting up.

Wow. I'd only known her for about three days, and now this awesome new friendship could be torn apart like a sheet of paper. I could easily picture one of us dying here. There was no way we could take that thing down on our own.

"If we make it through this, we're going to Olympus Coliseum next, okay? No dragons there," Pyra tensed her muscles, ready to spring. A shield materialised in her left hand. She quickly flexed her shoulder, the starburst-like scar there twitching as she moved.

"Yeah," I agreed, "no dragons sounds good right now."

The dragon roared again.

I summoned my chakrams, readying myself for the toughest fight of my life thus far.


	8. Chapter Seven: Only By The Night

Chapter Seven – Only By The Night

I lunged at the dragon, my katana raised high. I got the strangest feeling that I'd met this beast before as I slashed at its front legs, and, for some reason, I was actually holding back. What if this was a bad idea? We could still run… Maybe save battles against giant dragons for another day. When _both_ Lea _and_ myself were stronger.

I ducked under a claw as it slashed out towards me, trying not to get any more blood on my top. I stabbed at the beast's hand as it gnashed its jaws loudly, making metallic grinding noises. It roared in pain as I ran back to where Lea had begun throwing his chakrams at it madly.

I watched in mute horror as it reared up, before breathing tongues of green flame at us. I quickly jumped in front of Lea, holding my stupid little shield in front of me. The flames scorched the grass and the torn edges of my jeans, and I winced as I realised we would probably never get out of this battle with the both of us alive. Someone had to distract that thing while the other finished it off.

And I don't know about you, but I'm very good at distractions.

"Lea, when it stops torching us, you run around and attack from behind. I'll keep it occupied," I explained.

"Okay… Wait, you… You aren't…" He trailed off, and I turned to see that his face was a slight mask of horror.

"Lea, these things have to be done. We may have a chance of beating it if we try this, trust me," I exaggerated, smiling reassuringly.

"Okay… Just don't get yourself killed, alright? I need a way to get home, you know," he smiled slightly nervously.

"I can't make any promises, but I'll try," I nodded, just as the dragon stopped breathing fire at us. "Now's your chance, go!" I instructed, as Lea ran for the dragon's tail. I looked up at the beast. "Come and get me, you big buttmunch!" I yelled, "Let's see you make a meal out of me! Bring it on!"

And, oh, boy, did it bring it.

First, it smacked me down, feinting with one claw and boxing me with the other, raking a long gash on my cheek. Then it held me there with one massive, clawed hand, roaring loudly, just inches from my face. With the other claw, it crushed my dinky little shield, and threw it to the ground, enraged.

"Any minute, now, Lea," I groaned, struggling to avoid the dragon's wicked-looking fangs as it attempted to snap my head off between its jaws.

Suddenly, it roared, and reared back on its hind legs, bucking Lea off of its back.

Wow, he had gotten notoriously far, considering that he was climbing a moving, enraged dragon.

Still, the dragon bucked him off of its back, sending him flying into the stream.

Oh, shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit-

The dragon turned back to me, gnashing its jaws savagely. Its horns were a purple colour, I noticed, and its eyes were lime green, like the fire it breathed.

Like Maleficent's fire.

Holy crap.

The dragon was Maleficent.

As I may have mentioned before…

Shit. Shit, shit, shit shit shit shit shit…

The Maleficent-dragon leaned down to finally relieve me of my head.

I shut my eyes tightly.

…

There was a long pause. Was I dead? I didn't know.

I opened my eyes to see the tip of a lance poking through the lower half of the dragon's snout, before the dragon burst into green flame, vanishing from sight. The wielder of the lance landed nimbly beside me, before helping me up.

Kain.

"Um, If you don't mind my asking," I began, standing to my feet as Lea rushed over to us, "what the hell are you doing here?"

"I went to go find some shackles so I could chain Maleficent to a wall, so that she couldn't use anyone's darkness against them again, but by the time I got back, she'd turned herself into a dragon somehow, and was rampaging towards the exit of the castle," Kain explained. "I felt like it was my responsibility to stop her. But… She's pretty fast as a dragon. I couldn't keep up very well. That's why you two were wounded. I apologise"

"Don't, you couldn't help it," Lea mumbled, wringing out his scarf.

"No, just let me ap-"

"Lea has a point, Kain, it wasn't your fault," I smirked, looking him over. "You hurt?"

"No, I caught her completely by surprise, so I'm fine. You, however, are a different story. And so is he," he gestured to Lea.

He was grazed quite a bit, and his hands were rubbed pretty raw. "Don't worry, I got it," he smiled, quickly casting Cure on himself. He winced slightly as his palms clapped together, before a look of relief wiped itself over his face. I smirked.

… Wait, why was I paying attention to the look on his face?

You know, as in, pretty much all of my attention?

"You want me to heal you, too?" He asked, noticing my stare.

I quickly looked away, raising a hand to my cheek. "No, that's fine, I'll do it," I mumbled, blinking. "Cure," I cast, flinching as the wound closed over. I turned to Kain. "Thanks for saving our asses just now."

"And thank you two for saving _me_ earlier," he nodded. "I guess that makes us even."

"I suppose it does," I agreed. I looked up at the sun. Mid-afternoon, we should probably set up camp soon. "Anyway, I'm going to go find some firewood for later, so maybe we'll see you around?"

"Perhaps. Farewell," he raised his lance a tad, then turned back towards Maleficent's citadel, and jogged away.

I wondered what his past was like. With enough darkness to in him to be easily controlled by a crazy dragon lady, it must have been something unfortunate.

Still.

"I reckon we should find somewhere to set up camp," I noted, turning to Lea, who seemed to be awaiting something. "I'll find firewood if you find a spot that doesn't look too vulnerable to Unversed attack, okay?"

"Sure," he nodded, turning to jump across the stream. "Meet back here in about half an hour?"

"Alright," I agreed, turning to face a considerably low (in comparison to _most_ others) ledge. I quickly found a way up, then wandered around for a little while, looking for loose branches.

I managed to gather a considerable sized bundle of sticks without having to chop any trees down. Sweet.

I jumped back down off of the ledge, landing a little wobbly because of the wood, but then steadied myself. I put the wood down, before returning to where I'd found the wood, and finding enough to make another bundle. I returned to my original pile.

I swear, that was the shortest half-hour in the history of the universe.

Lea was already there.

"I found somewhere," he smiled, snapping his fingers into a thumbs up.

"I found some wood," I nodded, gathering up all the wood I'd dumped on the ground. "Show me to this place you found. I need somewhere to dump this stuff," I laughed.

"Sure, it's this way."

…

We arrived at the place pretty quickly. It was a cliff face with a nice little overhang at the bottom, the 'roof' of which was about two feet above my head. It looked out at a small clearing, about the size of the average kitchen. And, to top it all off, at the other side of this clearing, was the stream. It was about a metre deep here, therefore a lot more difficult for Unversed to cross.

"Nice place you found here," I told Lea, clapping out of respect. "You really thought about this, huh?"

"No, it was just conveniently placed along the stream, is all," Lea sniggered. "I found this by pure fluke, to tell the truth!"

"It was a pretty damn good fluke," I admitted. "This place is almost completely invulnerable!"

"Well, then, why don't we dump our stuff?" Lea suggested, pointing to the cave. "Then I can show you the best part about this little fluke."

I was confused for a moment, before realising he'd probably show me what he was talking about afterwards. I nodded, dawdling to the back of the cave-like hollow under the overhang, and dumping my bag behind a rock. I followed him out of the mini-cave, and along the edge of the stream.

I smirked as we reached a particularly deep part of the stream, where I could see fish swimming under the surface of the water.

And then… we reached a large pool of water, connected to the stream, that was about a metre and a half deep. At a guess. It looked like the perfect place to get blood off of clothes. You know, without, AHEM, taking them off.

"This is brilliant," I noted, nudging Lea in the ribs.

"Thanks," he grinned, "another brilliant fluke, I'm really on a roll, huh?"

I then realised another thing that this pool could be used for.

I let an evil grin spread across my face as I kicked off my boots.

"What's that smile for?" Lea asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This," I sniggered. "WATER!"

I laughed as I used the magic to spray him with water from the pool, then jumped in myself, cutting off the magic and letting the splash do the rest. The water quickly found its way through my torn and damaged clothing, drenching me instantly. But it cleaned the blood off of my top, so the cold water didn't bother me much.

"You little… Oh, it is _ON_!" Lea laughed, launching himself into the pool, spraying me with the water from his entry.

I had a thought, back to the diving squad of my world. I used to go watch them, as they scored each other's dives.

Then to a play I'd seen.

Heh.

… On a scale of one to ten… I'd rate his dive… An eight. Point-five.

… Nine-point-two. But nothing, _NOTHING_, over a nine-point-eight, because everything has room for improvement.

… I had to. I really did.

Anyway, once he resurfaced, I splashed him like mad. He did the same. We continued our splash war for around a minute.

Then it became a noogie war. Because I _kind of_ managed to get him in a headlock. Bwahaha, the power of the martial arts.

Then he splashed me in the face again.

And hence the cycle repeated a few times. Until.

"Pyra, let go," Lea complained, trying to break out of my noogie headlock.

"NEVER!" I laughed maniacally.

"Let go, right now, or I'll…"

"Or you'll _what_?"

"… I'LL SING THE NYAN CAT SONG UNTIL YOU EXPLODE! Nyanyanyanya-"

"OKAY, FINE, I'll let go," I laughed, giving in and falling back into the water, exhaling a little as I sank. I sat on the bottom of the pool, holding my breath, eyes shut, an annoyed look on my face. Damn, he could sing that song. Same speed, pitch and everything. It made me envious.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened one eye to see Lea floating just in front of me. His facial expression said 'sorry,' and he was making a thumbs up.

I shook my head, shutting my eyes again, and putting on a mock-annoyed expression.

Next I knew, he was pulling me up, so my head was out of the water, elbows hooked under my arms. "You really think I'm gonna let my ride out of here drown themselves?" He asked.

"I'm perfectly capable of holding my breath for over two minutes," I flailed a little, escaping his grip. "I would have come up for air when nessecary."

"Just as well," he laughed. "Have you got a towel, or don't you need one?"

"Don't need one. Why would I, when I have fire?"

"You have a fair point."

"That I do," I nodded, climbing out of the pool, shaking my head side to side as I did. I love having short hair, it dries so easily. "So, speaking of fire, it's gonna get dark in an hour or so, so perhaps we should go back and make one?"

"Brilliant idea, Holmes."

"Why, it's elementary, dear Watson," I smirked, heading back towards the cave.

And I don't quite know why, but I felt extremely proud for thinking of that. More proud than I would have usually felt.

… Could it have anything to do with Lea?

… Nah. Couldn't have.

…

A few hours had passed since the fire had been lit. It was dark outside now, and I was glad I'd brought a few boxes of Pop-Tarts with me. I found myself munching happily on one while I mended some of the rips in my jeans.

And, naturally, I'd given Lea a Pop-Tart, too.

"Hey, Pyra," Lea asked, "how do you reverse a spell?"

"Say it backwards," I nodded, taking a bite of my Pop-Tart, "example being Mini. To make something you've shrunk go full size again, you say Inim."

"Right," he nodded, pulling out his sleeping bag. "Inim!"

The bag grew to its full size.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"Don't mention it," I acknowledged.

A few moments passed.

"Hey, Pyra, what's your homeworld like?"

I paused in my sewing, taken aback by such a random question. "Well," I began, "It's very green most of the time. There's greenery covering the tops of the mountains, and there are these drifty green clouds that swirl around the tops of them. As for the mountains themselves, there are heaps of them, with winding rivers twisting to and fro at their feet.

"You can tell that it's an old world, because there are ruins on some of the cliff tops. The Keyblade Academy there is fairly new, compared to the rest of the buildings on the surface of the world. The community is actually based within the mountains, in large cave systems, built just before the Keyblade war. They were actually designed as a defensive measure, in case the war ever reached our world, but it never did, and the people had to use them for something, so they moved in. We do go out to see the sunlight on most days, but recently, a lot of people have been staying indoors, what with winter on its way and all.

"Anyway, underground, the community is actually pretty large, there are sports grounds, martial arts dojos, swimming pools, a shopping centre, it's really good. And I swear, there's the biggest library you could imagine-"

"It sounds like I need to show you _MY_ world's library," Lea interrupted.

"Yes! You _have_ to show me."

"Like you still have to teach me what the awkward palm tree in a storm is."

I thought back to our conversation about that 'Isa' fellow, back at Lea's house. I grinned. "Well," I began, "you sort of do a mashed potato thing with your fists," I said, scooting a little closer, and making the gesture, "that's the trunk, and then you do the swishing leaves, like this," I laughed, waving my hand over the top twice, then slapping him across the face.

"OW! Hey, you just slapped me!"

"That's what you should have done to Isa."

"Agreed, but still, ow."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but… OW."

"You can stop saying that."

"Bu-"

"Don't say it again, seriously," I sniggered.

"Fine," he laughed.

There was another pause.

"Do you remember anything about when my parents visited your world?" I asked suddenly, a question that had been bugging me since I'd first learned that we'd met before. I had no clue as to why I was asking it now.

"Not really…" he replied, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling, probably in an attempt to remember. "I _think_ I recall seeing an unfamiliar lady walking around, and she had long, black, wavy hair, but that's all can remember… It's funny…"

"What's funny?"

He looked at me once, then looked away. "Nothing, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," he mumbled defensively. He then looked at me. "Do you remember anything?"

I thought back to when I was first getting to know Lea. The water fight. The feeling that I'd done it all before. "I suppose I did get a little deja-vu while we were in the Outer Gardens, the day we had that water fight. And I got the weirdest feeling, like we'd known each other for ages. It's…" I was about to say funny, but I decided against it. "It's strange…"

_I would have thought I'd have remembered somebody like you._

Okay, where the hell did that thought come from?

"Strange? What's strange?" Lea asked, "something _funny_?"

"Um… Never mind, I, uh… I might tell you some other time…"

"No, really, what is it? Tell me!"

"Nothing of great importance! Just leave it alone," I laughed, shooing him off with my hand.

"I will find out, you know."

"I know you will. Just… not today."

It was a while before I realised I was staring off into space.

"Um, Pyra?" Lea shook me by my shoulder a little. "You alright?"

"Hm? Oh, right, um… I'm fine."

"Your eyes are glazed over… You sure?"

… They were? "I'm _fine_, I swear by it," I nodded. "I'll keep watch tonight, you get some sleep."

"Keep watch?"

"We don't want Unversed to come sneak up on us in the middle of the night, do we?"

"I suppose not," Lea agreed. "Can't I do it? I could use the experience."

"Only if I take over when you think you're getting drowsy."

"Done deal."

And with that, I went to sleep.

….

I was running towards the edge of a cliff, in a world I'd never been to before, just before sunset. I grinned, speeding up so as to get a better launch speed. I was going to enjoy this.

_Wait_.

I halted millimetres from the edge, staring down at the sand below. I looked to where it met the water. If I hadn't stopped, I would have been able to make that.

So why did I stop?

My heart pounded in my chest, as I pondered my actions. A part of me felt scared. I hadn't feared leaping off of anything since I was thirteen! I should have been able to just… throw myself off!

_Just jump,_ I told myself. _Don't be afraid. It's just a little fall._

And suddenly, the cliff seemed to double in height.

_Okay, maybe a big fall. But you can handle it, surely_!

I gathered my courage, and stepped off of the edge.

It was in that moment that I felt like I'd made a big mistake.

…..

I awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright, breathing heavily. What the HELL was that dream supposed to mean?

"Pyra," came a groggy voice from my right. I turned my head with a snappy motion, slightly startled, and jumped about a centimetre to my left. It was only Lea. "Pyra are you alright?"

"… Y-yeah… Just a sort of… nightmarish dream, is all…" I murmured. I looked at him properly. He looked tired in the light from the fire.

"What about?" He asked, shifting towards me a little way.

"Falling… something to do with falling…" I fell back so that I was lying down again, my head resting on my bag. "It could mean anything. I don't know, I can never figure my dreams out."

_You know what it is, deep down_, came a voice from within my head. My voice, but it sounded a little wiser than I normally did.

Okay then…

"You alright?" asked Lea, looking at me, a slight mask of concern crossing his face.

"I'm fine," I nodded, sitting back up, before leaning against the cave wall. "Have any Unversed come to visit?"

"Not yet. I doubt they will, at this rate, you've been asleep for the past four hours," he reported.

"Has it really been four hours?"

Lea nodded.

"Fair enough," I mused. "You're looking a little drowsy, you should get some sleep."

"I'm not tired!" he protested, before yawning widely. I looked at him skeptically. "Well, okay, maybe a little," he admitted.

"Go on, I'll take over from here," I smiled, pointing at his sleeping bag, "rest up, you'll need it for tomorrow. We're getting the hell out of dodge while that crazy dragon lady's missing in action."

He smirked, chuckling a little, then squirmed into his sleeping bag. "Okay. See you in the morning, 'kay? Don't get stolen by the Unversed, or I'll never forgive you."

"I won't," I assured him, "I promise."

"Night."

"Night," I echoed, turning my gaze towards the mouth of the cave. I gazed out into the inky darkness that was the night, watching as the wind made the tree leaves slowly sway back and forth on their branches across the other side of the clearing.

Time passed.

And more time passed.

I rummaged through my bag for a watch. An hour had passed. I looked at Lea, now sleeping soundly, his breathing quiet and even. I mutely wondered what _he_ dreamed about. I imagined that it wouldn't be anything stupid like falling off of cliffs.

_WAIT A MINUTE_. Why was I paying so much attention to him sleeping?

…

… Awkward…

I thought back to my dream for a quick moment. The falling. Then to what my conscience(?) had said afterwards. '_You know what it is, deep down,_' it had said.

Then to what I'd just caught myself doing.

… The two couldn't… they couldn't be… related somehow, could they?

… Nah. Couldn't be. Probably just the night playing tricks on my mind.

I resumed my stare out at the horizon, grabbing my bag and clutching it to my chest.

Ain't no Unversed stealing MY Pop-Tarts.

…

It'd been about five hours since I'd started paying attention to the horizon again, and the sky was starting to lighten. I checked my watch. It was about 6:30 in the morning, meaning it was probably very unlikely that Unversed would be attacking us before Lea woke up.

Which was about thirty seconds after I checked my watch.

"Lea," I said quietly, shaking him gently awake, "Lea, wake up, it's six-thirty."

"Six… Thirty?" He mumbled, squinting at me. "Why' you always up so early? Don't you sleep?"

"Dude. I've been awake for the past six hours keeping watch. That's why I'm awake, and you should be too, so come on," I smirked, offering him a hand up.

"Lemme get out of my sleeping bag, at least," he grumbled, squirming free of the quilt-like bag. He took my hand, and I pulled him to his feet.

"So," I began, "what do you want to do, head off for a different, dragon-free world, or explore the other castle?"

"I'unno, anything where I don't have to try to stop a crazy dragon lady from killing my friend would be great…"

"So… you aren't really fussed?"

"As long as Maleficent doesn't come after us, I'm up for staying for a few hours…"

I grinned. "Okay, then, pack up your sleeping bag, have a Pop-Tart, we leave for the castle at eight."

"What if we're ready to leave before then?"

"We either leave early or we sit around doing random crap. The choice is yours, I don't mind." I smirked, setting a Pop-Tart on fire, before quickly extinguishing it. I took a bite. "Did you sleep well?"

"Surprisingly so, considering I'm in a whole new WORLD here. I had a cool dream and everything," he mused, stuffing his sleeping bag into the carrier bag for it.

Dream?

"What about?" I asked.

"A whole bunch of different things. Nothing specific. At one point, I had my own glider," he grinned, gazing off into space.

"Sweet," I congratulated, eating more Pop-Tart. "You might want to minimise that, you know," I gestured to the sleeping bag.

"I know," he sighed, turning back to his sleeping bag. "Mini."

The bag shrunk, then he put it in his backpack. I offered him a freshly flamed Pop-Tart. He accepted, then nodded his thanks.

We ate in silence.

That's when you know you're friends. When you can sit in silence and it isn't really all that awkward.

After I was done with my Pop-Tart, I decided to practice my magic, hopefully get better at it. "I'm just going outside, let me know when you're done, so we can explore," I spoke over my shoulder.

"Alright," Lea nodded, "don't die out there."

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it," I laughed, wandering out into the morning light. It was probably ten minutes past dawn. It wasn't too bright yet, though. So it was dark enough to see how bright a light spell could glow.

"Holy," I forced the word, holding a hand out in front of myself. A bright orb of light appeared in my hand, radiating little flecks of light. It drained my strength faster than Firaga had the day before, but it was manageable, so I played around with my orb for a while, waving it around, watching as the light it left in its wake formed a little tail like that of a comet. I tossed it in the air, then caught it, amused by my little star-like firework.

I extinguished the light after a while, my head aching. I wondered if Holy was one of those spells that didn't have more than one level. They certainly existed. Come to think of it, it probably was one of those.

I quickly ate an ether. _Ah, much better_, I thought to myself. No more headache.

Then I had an idea. "Lea," I called, "come out here a second, I just came up with a good way to train your fire skills!"

He wandered out of the cave, oblivious to my plan, as I quickly created a fireball. I hid it behind my back.

"What is it?" He asked.

"We're gonna see if you can take control of a fireball somebody else made. You know how you can control magic flow?"

"Yeah…"

"If you put enough of your own magical energy into somebody else's spell, you can take over control, and use that spell yourself," I informed him. "Duck if it gets too close for comfort, okay?"

"What're you-"

I threw the fireball underarm, (hopefully) giving him enough time to react and take hold of it. I watched his moves, waiting to see what he would come up with.

He flinched a little, but 'caught' it when it was about a foot and a half from his body. "Hey, what do you know, I did it," He grinned. "Now, your turn!"

He threw it back at me, and I caught it before it even reached half way. "So that's how you want to play it, huh?" I laughed, making the fireball do a figure-8 in front of him, then making it circle his head.

"No, actually, I just wanted to see how quickly somebody who's 'no good at magic' could catch it," he smirked.

"I'm good at fire, that's different," I laughed.

"Is not."

"Is too. You can be good at certain kinds of magic, if not the rest," I explained. "When I say I'm not good at magic, I mean 'I'm not good at MOST magic.'"

"Sure you meant that."

"No, I did!" I whined.

…

I just… WHINED.

LIKE A GIRL.

I mean, sure, I AM a girl… but… LIKE A GIRL.

"Wait… Did you just-"

"No…" I cut Lea off just as quickly as he spoke.

"I didn't know you whined."

"I didn't."

"You did."

"Did not."

"No, I'm pretty sure you did…"

"Can we stop mentioning how I acted like a girly girl for a moment there? It bothers me."

"Why?" He looked puzzled, then curious. "You a lesbian or something?"

"No, but lesbians can act girly, on occasion. I'm a tomboy, and tomboys don't DO girly. We just don't."

There was a short silence.

"… Wanna go to that castle now?" I asked.

"Sure. You packed?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Of course. Just let me get my bag," Lea nodded, before heading back into the cave.

Awkward few moments just there.

Then I realised.

I had been catching myself doing weird things ever since I landed in Radiant Garden.

Ever since…

…No.

Noooooo.

It couldn't be possible.

I didn't… I didn't have a crush on Lea…

… Did I?


	9. Chapter Eight: Dreams and Pride

Chapter Eight – Dreams and Pride

~Pyra~

"You know, I don't care how disinterested you seemed in there, but that castle was awesome," Lea laughed, as we flew through space on my glider.

"I wasn't disinterested, I was just…" I looked for a word that would explain my over-thinking of 'certain issues' without explaining it at all.

"Just what?"

"… Thinking."

"Well, it must have been something important you were thinking about to have been that distracted. I mean, you're normally really focused," he nodded.

I turned to look at him. He tilted his head to one side, then shrugged.

… He looked funny doing that in armour.

"WHOA, SHIT, LOOK OUT!" He cried suddenly, leaping forwards and steering the glider to one side. I turned round to see that he'd just steered us out of the way of a giant asteroid. "Seriously, pay attention while driving!"

"Sorry," I apologized, taking control again, "thanks."

Seriously, Pyra? You _IDIOT_.

"Don't worry about it; we're fine, aren't we?" He laughed, springing back to where he was usually perched at the rear of the glider. "I'm getting better at this sort of stuff, huh?"

"What? Fixing things when I screw up? Well you certainly aren't getting worse at it," I joked.

"Well, I'll always be here to help," he bowed.

Oh, would he now…?

"Anyway, what's the whole point in going to this Coliseum place, anyway?" He asked, suddenly leaning over my shoulder and squinting into the distance. He didn't have to bother, the world was right there, plain as daylight, about three kilometres ahead.

And he was distracting me a bit, there…

"We're going to compete," I answered, shooing him away so as to not break my concentration, "according to my dad's stories, they have a great fighting tournament set up there, they call it 'The Games'. If we're lucky, maybe the others have stopped by recently."

"Wait, both of us? Competing?"

"Yeah. And we should enter as individuals, too. See how far we can progress without each other's help."

"Won't that mean that there's a chance…"

"That we have to fight each other? Yep," I nodded, as we entered the atmosphere of the world, touching down at the coliseum gates. "If we come up against each other, don't hold back, because I won't either. That way we can test each other's strength."

I jumped swiftly off of the glider, and Lea followed. We deactivated our armour, walking through the giant gates to the coliseum courtyard. "You'll thrash me, though!" Lea complained. "Do you even remember how you were just slaying those Unversed yesterday without even batting an eyelid?"

"I was zoned out, that doesn't count. Besides, I'd stop if you gave up," I grinned, "I don't particularly want to be flying you out of here with any broken bones. I'm not great at healing those, yet."

A guy with black hair who looked about a year older than Lea and I rushed past, holding a scroll-like piece of paper in his hand. "PHIIIIIL!" He yelled, "PHIL, SIGN ME UP!"

I watched as a short, podgy-looking satyr emerged from the vestibule, next to a guy wearing a toga, who looked about my age, if not a little younger. The satyr looked the dark-haired guy up and down. "Zack, are you really gonna enter again?" The satyr asked. "You're real desperate to become a hero, aren't ya?"

"Of course I am!" Zack grinned, doing squats all of a sudden.

"Oh, can you sign us up, too?" I asked, approaching the satyr, who I now assumed to be Phil, and gesturing to Lea and myself.

He looked _me _up and down. "You trained?"

"Naturally," I smirked.

"I'm a bit of a work in progress, but I'm getting there," Lea laughed.

"Hey, same here," said the dude in the toga. "Phil, let them enter. Besides, that girl there's wearing the same emblem as Ven, Terra and Aqua were."

I looked between Phil and toga boy. "You guys know them?"

"Well, yeah," Zack smirked, sitting on the ground, "Ven helped me and Hercules over there train for the Games, Terra saved my ass from an evil dude named Hades, and Aqua also kicked Hades' butt, as well as a giant popsicle thing that he was controlling."

… Well, good. Terra seemed to be keeping out of trouble this time.

Hang on.

"Has there been a guy wandering round wearing a mask recently?" I asked.

"I think I saw someone like that yesterday… He seemed to be looking for something," nodded the boy in the toga, Hercules.

I looked at Lea.

His face sunk.

"He was muttering something about other worlds…" mused Zack, before quickly looking up at me and Lea, "Not that I'd know anything about that…"

As you can probably guess, that one sentence made me suspicious.

"Zack, you and I need to have a little talk, _right now_, outside the Coliseum. Come with me," I ordered, grabbing his arm and dragging him across the ground. "Lea, come with," I nodded, exiting the Coliseum, and rounding the corner, just out of earshot of Hercules and Phil.

I waited until Lea got there.

And then all hell broke loose.

…

~Lea~

"Who are you, really, and how do you know about other worlds?" Pyra interrogated, pinning Zack against the wall of the Coliseum.

"Zack! I'm Zack, and I always have been! Zack from Gongaga!" he protested, squirming free of her grip. "I'm from a world called Shinra's Empire. That's how I know."

"Pyra, loosen up," I nudged, elbowing her gently.

Zack looked at me funny then, before smirking to himself.

… What…?

"Tell me about this 'Shinra's Empire'," she glared. "I'd love to hear _all about it_."

"There's a really big city in the middle called Midgar, and there's a country called Wutai, and there's a group of fighters that call themselves SOLDIER. I left about a month ago, this weird talking mouse named Mickey took me here with this star thing. Honest!"

"Since arriving here, have you met a bald guy named Xehanort?"

… Oh, god, she thought that he was Vanitas in disguise.

"No. Never heard of him," he explained, before pausing, then frowning at Pyra. "Wait… How do YOU know about other worlds?"

"I come from a world named the Land of Departure. Xehanort is my uncle, one of the universe's biggest bad guys. I'm trying to stop him and his little hench-buddy Vanitas, the dude in the mask, while trying to hunt down Ven, Aqua and Terra, who just so happened to be students at my dad's academy. I have photos of the world, and photos of the people who live in it, or who used to," she nodded.

"Wait… so you're trying to hunt those three down?" Zack asked, before grinning widely. "Let me help!"

"Why should I?"

"Pyra, he knows them. All of them. He's done this 'Games' thing before, and he already knows that there are other worlds. He's a damn sight more qualified than I was," I informed her quietly. "Plus, you never know how powerful the next enemy is gonna be, so we could use all the help we can get."

She seemed to consider it for a moment.

Meanwhile, Zack was sniggering to himself. "Aw, man, you two are cute," he laughed, "you going out or something?"

"Wha… No!" we both protested, each jumping about six inches away from one another.

I hoped that Pyra didn't notice me mouthing the words 'I wish'.

"Okay, well, what are you then?"

"Friends. Who fight bad guys. Friends who fight bad guys," Pyra nodded rapidly. "Nothing more."

_Yet_, I thought.

"Really?" Zack grinned, "It doesn't look li-"

"Listen here, _Zack_, if you want to come with us on our search for Terra, Ven and Aqua, we're friends until otherwise informed. _Got it_?" Pyra snarled.

Well gee, she was getting defensive.

"Whoa, okay, fine, fine, no need to get worked up about it… Wait, I can join you guys?" Zack seemed excited.

"Yes," Pyra sighed, massaging the side of her head like she did when she used a little too much magic, "you can come along. But we're going in the Games first."

"Sweet. Maybe I'll see you in the arena, then," he grinned, "because I'm entering, too."

"Just one thing…" Pyra mused, stepping a little closer to him, "how old are you?"

"Sixteen, as of the day I left my world," he answered, "why?"

"Huh," Pyra smirked, going to walk back into the Coliseum, "you don't really act like it," she chuckled, wandering out of sight.

I looked at Zack. He was gaping in shock.

"Better get used to it," I laughed, "she has quite the attitude, sometimes."

"… She just called me immature…"

"Yeah, real hard to see why," I joked.

"Yeah, well, it's real hard to see that you _like_-like her," he retorted, his face spreading into an evil grin. "I'm amazed she hasn't noticed."

I gave him daggers. "If you say anything-"

"Dude. You're shorter than me by about three inches, you're not intimidating me."

"I don't care. If you say anything, you're… you're…"

"Ya might want to think about that," he laughed.

This was going to be an interesting journey.

…

~Pyra~

I approached the satyr once again, trying to put Zack's question out of my head. Of course we weren't going out, I mean, really? We were just friends (as much as my actions seemed to be telling me I wanted otherwise), was that really that difficult to see?

"Hey, um, Phil, isn't it?" I began. The satyr looked up from the newspaper he'd started reading. "I'd like to sign myself up for the Games. Lea too, if that's okay," I smiled.

"Look, as long as you're trained, and you're good with audiences, then sure. Go ahead. Just two words for ya," he explained, looking me right in the eye, "Don't. Get. Cocky."

"Wait, isn't that..." I mumbled to myself. That was three words…

"Hey, Pyra," came a voice from behind me, "that IS your name, isn't it?"

I looked over my shoulder. Zack.

"I gotta tell you something about Le-" He was cut off by Lea trapping him in a headlock, hand clamped over his mouth.

"Don't worry about it, it isn't an evil secret or anything," he groaned, struggling against the now-attempting-his-escape Zack.

I shrugged, turning back to Phil. "I can handle crowds," I nodded. "I don't know about Lea, but I know he did a few sports, too, and people would have had to been watching at some point, so I'm pretty sure he'd be able to handle it."

Phil looked over at Lea and Zack then, and I did the same. I watched as they wrestled for a while. Lea seemed genuinely peeved. Huh.

There I go again, paying more attention than usual. I was actually starting to be semi-convinced that I might… well. You know.

Confound my brain, it drives me to think.

"He looks like he can handle himself well enough. You're in," Phil stated. "You'll be fighting in the East bracket, and he'll be in the West bracket with Zack. Is that good?"

"Brilliant," I grinned. "Is Hercules going to be fighting, too?"

"Yeah, in the East bracket, with you."

"Sweet," I nodded. "Now, I'm going to go split those two up," I suggested, wandering over to where Zack and Lea were brawling. I grabbed the collar of Zack's jumper-thing, and the back of Lea's scarf, then yanked the two of them apart. "Okay, boys, split it up, we have the Games yet, you can try to kill each other then, alright?" I smiled sarcastically.

"He started it," Zack choked, pulling his collar free.

"Did not," Lea protested, tugging at the end of his scarf, forcing me to let go.

"I don't care who started it, I'll finish it if I have to," I frowned. "What are you, a couple of five-year-olds?"

Zack glared at me, then pulled an evil grin, and turned to Lea. "She _will_ find out, you know, just you wait," he laughed, then he walked over to Phil, discussing whose match was up first in the Games. Lea glared after him.

"What's your problem?" I asked, slightly concerned.

"It's nothing. He just seems to like sharing his theories about people," he grumbled.

"His theory being…?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," he reassured. "At least, not now, anyway."

"When will I need to start worrying?" I joked.

"Depends on whether you'll be worried by it to begin with," he smirked, but he looked a little anxious, too. "I'm hoping you won't be."

"Okay, I'm getting really curious now," I admitted, twigging onto the fact that this may turn out to be extremely important in the near future. "What's the theory…?"

"You'll find out soon enough…" he smirked again, walking towards the vestibule, where Phil and Zack had gone.

… Well, this was turning out to be an interesting day, I thought, following him into the vestibule. I heard Phil talking to Zack, Lea and Hercules. "Okay, so the first to fight out there will be Zack, he'll be up against a team named 'The Shoegazers'. They look like-"

"Oversized blue boots with faces and antennae?" I asked. "Yeah, Shoegazers are a kind of Unversed. You might have seen them around," I nodded.

Phil smirked. "Been doing your research, eh? Prepared, I like it," He laughed.

"Good luck, Zack," Hercules nodded.

"Thanks," he grinned, "I won't lose!"

He entered the Coliseum, waving as he went. I went to follow, only to be blocked by Phil.

"Sorry, competitors are strictly forbidden from watching other competitors matches before they've been knocked out of the tournament," he explained.

"Why…?"

"It gives away our battle strategies, apparently, and Phil wants the competition to be even," Hercules announced.

"Even-schmeven," I smirked, "I just want to see if he can take out a bunch of freaking Shoegazers."

"It doesn't matter, rules are rules," Phil glared.

"Fine," I huffed. "We'll just have to wait until he leaves the Coliseum, then."

…..

~Zack~

Shoegazers. From what I'd learned here in the Coliseum, they were dangerous in groups of more than two.

But pretty much useless by themselves.

"Thundara!" I yelped, raising my SOLDIER-issue sword above my head. Electric bolts sparked out in a rough circle around me, jolting the Shoegazers enough to separate their little cluster.

Now to just pick 'em off individually…

Quickly, I took out each and every one of the Shoegazers, using mainly charging attacks and attacks where I slammed my sword to the ground. After around twenty seconds, I was the only fighter left in the Coliseum. The crowd cheered wildly.

I grinned, putting my sword back onto the magnet on my back.

These would be the Games that I finally won.

…

~Pyra~

"I beat 'em," Zack smiled smugly, re-entering the vestibule.

"Oh, aren't you proud," Lea teased.

"Shut up."

"Alright, calm your jets, you two," I frowned. "Phil, who's next?"

"You are, sweet cheeks," he nodded. "You're up against a group of Bruisers. Five'a them."

"Okay. Wish me luck, boys," I grinned, leaving the four males in the vestibule.

"Good luck," Lea called after me.

I smiled to myself, then wiped the expression off of my face. _Seriously, Py_, I told myself, _he's your team mate. You've only known him for a few days, I mean REALLY…_

I entered the Coliseum's arena to face the screaming crowd and the intense sunlight. I raised an arm to shield my eyes while they adjusted, to see a large group of Bruiser Unversed waiting in the center of the arena.

And suddenly, I was as focused as a beam of sunlight through a magnifying glass. I summoned my trusty scimitars, in all of their red and gold glory, and charged at the Unversed. The front member of the group went to throw a punch, to which I smirked, and flipped over and out of the reach of. I landed in a neat crouch on the other side of the cluster. "FIRA!" I grinned, projecting my voice, then directed the flames to my blades. I slashed out at the Bruisers, knocking a few down, their backs burning.

I took the opportunity to un-summon my scimitars and switch to my crossbow, my bolt quiver appearing on my back as the crossbow appeared in my hand.

But I wasn't going to use my bolts. No, I was going to try something different. You know, improvise a little.

Well, not really. More like use one of my dad's spells.

"Lightcutter!" I yelled, jumping into the air, and rebounding off of the pillars that marked out the arena boundary. I took aim on the Unversed on the ground, before pulling the trigger, hard. A barrage of light-bolts shot from my crossbow like pellets from a machine gun, spraying the Bruisers with a shower of magical energy. It was one of the most draining spells I'd used, but I was only using it for a short time, so it didn't hurt too much. And hey, the crowd went absolutely ballistic.

As I dropped to the ground, and the Bruisers took the full impact of all of my light-bolts, I switched back to my scimitars, and rushed them with all of the force I could muster.

Within moments, all of the Bruisers had been dispatched, and the crowd screamed loudly, cheering me on. I smiled broadly, twirling my scimitars as I un-summoned them. I marched proudly back into the vestibule, an evil grin stretching across the planes of my face.

These Games would be a piece of cake.

…..

~Lea~

"Okay, those guys are toast," Pyra announced, entering the vestibule, grinning that showcase evil grin of hers. "Whoever's next, get your butt out there, the crowd's insane."

"Herc, you're up," Phil nodded. "I was kind of in a rush when I wrote down this one, so I can't really read my own writing, but be prepared for a group of five or six Unversed, 'kay, champ?"

"Okay, here goes nothing," Herc smiled. "Let's hope I come back in one piece."

He walked out of the vestibule straight-backed and marching proud, like nothing could hurt him.

Huh.

Pyra approached where I was leaning against the wall, and leaned against the wall too, about half a foot away from me. "You ready?" She smiled.

"Yeah, I suppose," I smirked. "I just need to go in there with an 'I can beat anything' attitude."

"Don't get cocky," Phil warned, turning towards the door to the outside of the Coliseum. "I just gotta go get some things, I'll be back in a minute."

He walked outside, leaving me, Zack, and Pyra alone in the vestibule.

And then Zack burst out laughing. "It so has to be you two," he chuckled, sliding down his wall in fits of laughter, "I mean, look at yourselves! You're so… chummy! And Pyra, who seems like one of the universe's biggest tomboys on the outside, actually looks CONCERNED! Aw, man, this is rich!"

"Watch your mouth," Pyra snapped.

"You don't even know us!" I growled, approaching Zack. "You can't just make those assumptions!"

"Dude," he sighed, standing up, "older, taller, probably stronger than you-"

"You might be stronger than him," Pyra snarled, "but I can guarantee you that I will kick your ass and wipe the floor with it in a second, if you don't shut up."

I looked at her. Her face was stern, hard, cold. She was serious.

"You have no right to assume that," she scowled, moving me out the way gently, then she stood on her tip-toes and stared Zack right in the eyes. "If you don't drop this subject _right now_, you won't be coming with us. That understood?"

… I remembered back to when she threatened to kill Vanitas, the day we met. I reminded myself never to let her get that angry at me.

"Fine, fine, I'll drop it. Just don't expect me not to think it," he sniggered, making a face that was strikingly similar to the trollface.

"As long as you keep it to yourself, _Zack_," I shot a glare at him.

He seemed to have his own version of an evil grin, as he was doing it right now. "_Sure_," he smirked.

"Anyway, back to real life, Lea, are you ready for your match?" Pyra asked, her 'KILL ALL THE THINGS' expression now replaced by a look of curiosity.

"Yeah, I suppose so-"

"Hey, guys," Herc entered the room, grinning, "I did it!"

"Woooo, go Herc!" Zack cheered. "One step closer to embracing your dreams!"

… Embracing dreams, huh?

… Heh. I could embrace one of my dreams with great ease, right now. Thing is… Would said dream leave me in one piece if I did…?

"Lea, you're up!" Phil entered the vestibule, holding the clipboard. "You're up against five Axe Flappers and five Archravens. Good to go?"

I looked at Pyra. "They're the flying ones, right?"

"Yep," she nodded. "Now go get 'em!"

I smirked, summoning my chakrams, and walked down the hall and out into the coliseum.

Damn, that was one massive crowd.

And, damn again, the Archravens were already about ten metres in the air.

But, considering what I'd learned about those damned flyers in the past five days, I knew that they didn't swoop too often, and they weren't incredibly accurate when they did. So I focused on the Axe Flappers first.

"Fire!" I shouted, throwing my chakrams at a couple of the Axe Flappers. The weapons caught fire as they flew towards them, colliding with their targets in a swirling blaze, knocking the cluster of enemies out of formation. I laughed as my weapons returned, catching them as I leapt forwards to swipe at my now burning opponents. I threw in a few kicks, too, for the hell of it. After about thirty seconds, they were gone, vanished.

Archraven time.

I leapt into the air, as high as I could, then threw my chakrams as hard as I could at two of the Archravens. The other three… Well, what would any good magic user do? Shoot them down. "Fire!" I hollered, shooting several small fireballs at the Archravens I hadn't thrown the chakrams at. I considered the fact that they weren't too strong, they mustn't have had much left in them after that.

I grinned as the Archravens started to drop out of the air, then decided to try something tricky. An Archraven passed my foot, so I reached out with it, and pushed off of it, leaping a little further into the air. I continued bounding upwards off of the five falling Unversed, until I was above all of them. My chakrams had returned to me by now, so it was time to really test myself.

I shut my eyes in concentration, then snapped them open again, confident. I pointed the centres of my chakrams at the ground, crossed over one another, so they looked like the sights on a rifle. "FIRA!" I roared, a fireball quite a bit larger than the others I'd shot erupting from where the crossbars of the weapons met, shooting downwards. It engulfed the Archravens in a small explosion, taking the lot of them out. My head was pounding, but I'd done it. A second level spell, a scant five days after learning the first level version of it. I really must have been a natural, like Pyra said.

I dropped to the ground, landing in a slightly wobbly crouch. The crowd cheered at a deafening volume, and flames still lingered around me, almost clinging to the floor. I fell onto all fours. _I'd actually done it._

"Where the HELL did THAT come from!" came a voice from the corridor that led to the vestibule. I looked up to see Pyra jogging over.

"I thought Phil said-"

"I knew your fighting style before we even got here, Lea, I explained that to Phil before I came to watch," she explained, beaming. "Still, first, you jumped like a pro, then you appeared to just hang in midair for a bit while you started attacking those Archravens, and then you _jumped further into the air off of their backs_, and then you used a _SECOND LEVEL FIRE SPELL_. WHERE THE HELL DID THAT ALL COME FROM, MAN!"

"I dunno," I breathed, fishing one of the ethers she'd given me from my pocket. I shoved it in my mouth, spitting out the wrapper. I stood to my feet. "I suppose I'm just a fast learner. Besides, I have a pretty epic teacher, SHE could probably do that with her EYES shut," I laughed.

"That you do," she chuckled, blushing a little.

For some reason, the crowd screamed a little louder.

"Hey, guys, I can hear the crowd from the vestibule, what's going on?" Zack came running out from the corridor, followed closely by Herc and Phil.

"Lea just freaking ANNAHILATED those things!" Pyra cheered proudly, fist pumping the air.

"Pyra, I should disqualify you for watching, you know-"

"Calm down, Phil, If she already knew how he fights, and he knew how she fights, then it's even, isn't it?" Herc asked, cutting Phil off.

"I suppose… I'll let ya' off with a warning, this time," Phil sighed, "But this is strike one. Remember, three strikes-"

"And I'm out, I get it, I've played baseball, Phil," Pyra laughed. She turned to me. "You should be so god damn proud of yourself right now," she laughed, still beaming widely.

"Dreams and pride, they're all a good hero needs," Zack sniggered, looking quite proud himself, "and I KNOW you have dreams."

"Shut up, Zack," I threw him a glare, mockingly this time, "and you need friends, too. I mean, where the hell would I be without my pyromaniac fighting teacher?" I joked, elbowing Pyra in the ribs.

"Oh, like you can talk!" She laughed, pulling me into a noogie. "You're getting just as bad as I am!"

"Whoa, wait, you taught him to fight?" Zack asked, exasperated.

"Well, yeah," Pyra smirked. "And I train with him, too, that's how I know how he fights. I taught him the basics, and I assume he's just picking up on the rest himself!"

"Wow. If he annahilated those things, I'd hate to see what you do to them," Phil scratched his head, heading back into the vestibule. "Come on, guys, we need to get ready for the quarter finals. Those were just the preliminaries, you guys ain't seen nothin' yet."

"Alright," Zack nodded, racing Herc back into the corridor.

Pyra released me from the noogie, then turned to head back inside. "Ready for round two?" she asked, looking back over her non-armoured, non-scarred shoulder. A part of me was suddenly wondering where she got the scar, but I shrugged it away.

"You can bet your life on it," I grinned back at her, following her inside.

This was gonna be a close competition.


	10. Chapter Nine: Blackbird

Chapter Nine – Blackbird

~Pyra~

"Alright, quarter finals time," Phil explained. "The teams that progressed were Zack, Pyra, Herc, Lea, the Shade Jellies, the Mandrakes, the Hareraisers and, finally, team Blue Blaze."

"There's no such Unversed as a Blue Blaze," I announced, "they don't exist."

"I know. Team Blue Blaze isn't an Unversed team. But they are bad guys, and I expect one of you to kick their asses to the middle a' next week, got it?"

The four of us nodded.

"Now, Pyra, you're up first this time, you'll be fighting the Shade Jellies in a lightning round, and you'll have forty-five seconds to take them all out," Phil announced, seeming to strike some names off of his little tournament tree diagram.

"How many are there?" I asked.

"Only thirty," he mumbled.

"THIRTY?" Lea sounded exasperated. "One, how is it even possible to defeat thirty Unversed in forty-five seconds? Two, THIRTY? THAT'S SUICIDE!"

"Answers to your questions, Lea," I smirked, "one, Shade Jellies have really low tolerance to physical attacks, so it's actually quite easy to defeat that many in that short a time. Two, they may try to attack relentlessly, but if you drive them away with a spell first, then you can pick them off individually, hence giving them no chance to kill you."

"Oh, well… Good," he nodded.

Zack sniggered a little. I shot him a glare.

"Anyway, Pyra, get out there and kick some butt," Herc smiled, gesturing for me to go fight. I nodded.

Time to cut some bitches.

I entered the arena, scimitars already in hand. I faced the large group of Shade Jellies, preparing my mind for the onslaught of mental pain from attempting two difficult spells in rapid succession.

If Lea could do it, so could I.

And besides, what was a lightning round without a little thunder?

"THUNDAGA!" I yelled, raising my blades, lightning striking out in a massive circle around where I stood. The Unversed were knocked back a fair way, and some were stunned, so I could now race around the arena, knocking them down one by one as I went. But that wasn't the plan at all. I held my blades together, before screaming out one final spell. "FIRAGA!"

I spun around in a tight pirouette, flames erupting from the tips of the red and gold blades in a magnificent flamethrower. My head throbbed, hard. I was pushing it.

But the main objective of the spell barrage was complete – knock most of them out. Now all I needed to do was perform a quick, rushing attack, hitting as many in one attack as possible.

Shotlock time.

I crouched down, taking in the exact locations of all of the enemies, mentally locking on to them. I concentrated hard, blocking out as much as I could, short of the throbbing I felt in my head. I concentrated on that one ache, that one, loud, throbbing pain, then imagined it being inflicted on the Shade Jellies.

Then, faster than I'd ever moved before, I rushed my enemies in a mad frenzy, taking each and every one of them down within the second. It was insane, and physically draining, but I loved it.

By the time I stopped moving, the crowd was going absolutely mad, and I was absolutely exhausted, both mentally and physically. But I was proud. And I'd done it all in twenty seconds. _Twenty__seconds,__not__too__shabby_, I thought to myself, standing up properly from my weird, lunge-like position. I bowed jokingly to the crowd, then walked back down the corridor into the vestibule, panting a little.

The moment I entered the room, I slipped quickly to my right, leant against the wall, and slid down into a seated position. "Done," I breathed, pulling an elixir from my bag.

"You alright? You look dizzy," Lea asked.

"Like someone hit you in the back of the head with a lead pipe," Zack agreed.

"Used two third level spells and a shotlock attack," I explained. "Mentally AND physically draining," I drank the elixir, indulging in the sudden lack of mental strain and jelly muscles.

"What's a shotlock attack?" asked Herc.

"You focus on the locations of every enemy surrounding you, or just one, and you attack them, multiple times, within about ten seconds tops. Mine takes about one second to perform, because it's a speed attack, but others use magic attacks or pure power attacks. And, if you hit enough enemies, or you hit the same one enough times, sometimes you can sap their strength and keep attacking them until that sapped strength runs out."

"Awesome…" He grinned, eyes glimmering.

"Alright, now that you've traded battle secrets, Herc, you're up against ten Mandrakes. You got your jumpin' shoes on?" Asked Phil.

"I've always been able to jump, Phil, and I always will be able to," Herc laughed. "Anyway, here goes everything!"

He left the room with an air of confidence about him, and again, it was only me, Lea, Zack and Phil left in the vestibule. "I don't suppose you two want to know who you'll be fighting?"' Phil asked, looking at the boys, who seemed to be bickering quietly about something at the other end of the room.

The two looked up. "It wouldn't hurt to know, I suppose," Zack mused.

"Who am I fighting?" Lea asked, walking over.

"Him," Phil announced, pointing at Zack.

… Well, this was going to be funny.

….

~Lea~

"I'm fighting Zack?" I asked. "Really? Zack? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Come on, Lea, you'll do alright, considering that new trick of yours," Pyra smiled, getting up, but still leaning against the wall.

"Well, alright, yeah, but he won't win," Zack teased.

"I won't lose, either," I glared jokingly.

"Hey, I may not always be right, but I'm never wrong," Zack raised an eyebrow cryptically. I noticed that Pyra was studying his expression. What was she looking for?

There was a moment of silence, before Pyra shrugged. "Just don't tear one another to shreds, 'kay?"

"I'll refrain where possible," Zack laughed.

"As will I," I grinned, summoning my chakrams.

Herc stumbled back into the Vestibule, his shins bleeding. "I beat 'em all," he announced, "but, MAN, those leaves are sharp!"

"I got this one," Pyra sighed, "Cure."

Herc beamed as his wounds were healed. "Gee, thanks!" He smiled, "something tells me that the semis are gonna be pretty interesting!"

"Too right," Pyra nodded.

"Anyhoo, Zack, Lea, you two are up," Phil instructed.

"Right!" We nodded in unison, making our way towards the corridor that led to the arena.

"Wait, Phil, can me and Herc watch this one?" Pyra asked. I paused.

"Rules are rules…"

"Phil, it isn't like I'm going to be studying their fighting styles, I just want to see who wins, and how quickly that happens. You can trust me."

I waited.

Pyra waited.

"Oh, fine," Phil sighed, "but this is the last time I allow you to do this!"

"Thanks, Phil, you're the best!" Pyra grinned, following me and Zack down the corridor, Herc following closely behind her. She looked at me. "I just had to see this, I really did," she beamed.

My heart started to race again.

We reached the arena, where she and Herc broke off from us to join the crowd. "Good luck, guys!" she encouraged us, then she took a seat in the stands.

I looked at Zack, who had made his way to the center of the arena, and went to face him. "You ready?" I asked.

"I was BORN ready," he laughed.

"Oh yeah? Bring it on," I grinned, leaping at him, chakrams raised in front of me. With a loud 'clanggggg,' our weapons clashed, and from there, things got interesting. It was a game of duck and chase, never landing any blows to the body, yet never completely avoiding them, and I found that, throughout the next thirty seconds, my scarf was progressively getting more and more torn.

"This is insane," Zack smirked, blocking one of my strikes with his sword, before he countered with one of his own. "I wonder if it would be a little more interesting if we were fighting over information…?"

"You wouldn't!" I frowned, blocking his counter from behind my chakrams.

"Winner gets to tell Pyra the truth!" he sniggered, taking a leap away from me. "THUNDARA!"

I found myself being thrown backwards as a mid-sized bolt of lightning collided with my lower chest. Pain erupted all over my body as the shock spread, and I cried out in pain. _Lightning__is__NOT__good__for__me_, I noted, as I skidded across the ground on my back.

Another thing I noticed… I was temporarily paralysed.

Not good, when Zack happened to be readying for a rushing attack. _Come__on,__muscles__…_

I just managed to roll out of the way of him slamming his sword to the ground, before countering shakily with the swipe of a chakram. He managed to block, but I managed to leap back a little, out of his range. "FIRE!" I yelled, shooting a barrage of fireballs in Zack's direction. He caught one right in the chest, and went flying back a little way. I paused briefly, then threw one of my chakrams as hard as I could in his direction, whilst running with the other in my hand. I watched as the chakram that I'd thrown hit Zack's shoulder, and came flying back to me after he fell again.

"I'll be the one to tell her, thank you very much, and I'll tell her whenever the hell I want," I grinned, catching the chakram.

And then I noticed he was focusing on something as he got up, and he lifted his sword. "Fine," he laughed, "just gimme this win!"

I went to say, 'you're gonna have to earn it,' but found myself being hit by a flurry of blows to the chest and shoulders, winding me, temporarily stealing away my ability to speak. The attack was hard and fast, and all I saw was a blur of black, blue, gold and silver as I was knocked to the ground. _So__this__is__what__being__on__the__receiving__end__of__a__shotlock__must__feel__like_, I thought to myself, suddenly realising what the attack was.

As soon as I realised that it was over, I rolled off of my back onto all fours, then stood up weakly, picking up my chakrams (which had been knocked from my hands). "You know… one thing I've learned in the last five days or so," I mumbled shakily, wiping a little blood from my mouth, "is that you never give up!"

I moved forwards to attack with any strength that remained after the insane attack that was Zack's shotlock, only to have him flick my chakrams out of my hands. He pointed his sword at me. "Really?" he asked. "Care to show me?"

I gathered all the mental strength I could muster, then raised my arm in front of myself. "Fira," I commanded, shooting a large-ish fireball from the palm of my hand. The moment it had been released, I felt incredibly drained, however.

I passed out before the attack even connected.

…

~Pyra~

"Oh, SHIT," I cried, as Lea passed out and Zack caught fire, following Lea's lead half an instant later. I stood and whirled on my toes. "Has anybody got an urn of water or something?"

"There's one over there," a girl in a purple dress toga fastened with a pin that looked like a DNA strand pointed at an urn in the corner of the coliseum. "Hey, aren't you that girl who beat the Shade Jellies?"

"No time to chat," I replied, outstretching my arm towards the urn. "WATER!"

I moved the ENTIRE contents of the urn (hard work, by the way) so that it was hovering over Zack, and then dumped it on him, putting out the flames. A few moments later, he sat up dead straight with a cough and a splutter, and looked up to the stands. I waved. He performed a face palm, and then fell backwards onto the ground, laughing.

"Nice one, Pyra," Herc nodded.

"Thanks," I grinned, before remembering Lea had passed out on the floor. "Crap, I need to see if Lea's okay," I realised, thinking out loud, quickly weaving through the crowd to the bottom of the stands. A wave of murmurs passed through the crowd as I leapt over the front few rows of people, and I face palmed for actually choosing to sit among them. They recognized me. Confounded crowds…

I reached Lea a few seconds later, then gave him a quick once over.

He was covered in cuts and gashes, and his scarf was pretty much in tatters around his neck. His vest was in a similar condition, though the singlet he wore underneath seemed to be fine; I assumed it was because it wasn't swishy. There was a giant singe mark in the middle of the singlet, though, about where Zack's lightning had hit him, and the frayed edges of his scarf and vest were slightly burnt.

In other words… He looked as if he'd been put in a cage with a Doberman, then put in the griller for just a _little_ too long.

"Hey," I nudged him gently with my foot, "you alright?"

No response.

"Lea," I nudged him again, "Lea, please don't be dead, that would make me _really_ bummed," I admitted, nodding.

I noticed that Zack was now standing behind me. "I got this one," he smirked, then stooped down, right close to Lea's ear. He took a deep breath. "LEA, GET UP YOU LAZY RANGA," he yelled.

Lea scrunched his face up, groaned, then opened his eyes a little. "Who won…?" He asked quietly, rubbing his head. "Aw, man, Py, I see what you meant by Dizzee Rascal headache… my head is freakin' POUNDING," he groaned, "do you have an elixir, by any chance?"

"Yeah, sure," I nodded, fishing one from my bag, "though, my head is pounding too, after how LOUD ZACK JUST YELLED," I laughed, handing it over.

"Shut up," Zack laughed.

"Hypocrite, much?" I joked.

I watched as Lea drank the elixir, and his face seemed to light up. "Seriously, I _love_these moogle drinks," he sighed, stretching a little, before sitting up.

"So, who actually won that?" Zack asked. "I mean, we both ended up passing out, so…"

"Zack, you won," announced Phil, entering the arena. "You were last to lose consciousness."

"Dang it," cursed Lea, "I nearly had him."

"Next time," I smirked.

"Yeah, if you're lucky," Zack laughed. I sent him a look, causing him to laugh even harder.

The crowd was cheering loudly.

"Okay, now the only teams left to fight are the Hareraisers and team Blue Blaze, so let's let them get to it, while we discuss the semis," Phil instructed, dragging Zack and myself towards the Vestibule. I quickly grabbed Lea by the back of his vest and pulled him to his feet, dragging him with us.

As much as he hadn't made the semis, I was sure that there would be some way that he could participate. There had to be something. Even if it was helping Phil be ref.

Surely.

-_MEANWHILE_-

"HADES! VANITAS! You two are up," came a voice from the Arena end of the tunnel. Vanitas looked up from where he was sitting to see the girl in the purple dress toga again. He silently wondered what Xehanort saw in her, but then remembered her special abilities.

It made no difference to him. She was still annoying as fuck. Who did she think she was, stealing his thunder? He wanted to eliminate Pyra himself.

"Oh, goody, who won the last round?" Hades feigned his enthusiasm, examining his blue, claw-like fingernails.

"The raven-haired boy," the girl walked down the tunnel, her appearance changing from one of a local to her usual, elf like appearance. "Believe it or not, that 'Pyra' girl that the boss speaks of was in the stands," she addressed Vanitas directly, putting her layered purple hair into a ponytail, acid green cat eyes glistening. "Maybe she'll make the final."

Vanitas stared at her through his somewhat spiky black fringe. She was now wearing a brown, piratey cloak, with no sleeves, and a pair of distressed skinny jeans, with an old pair of brown leather boots. The tattoo circling her left upper arm was a DNA strand, just like the pin that formerly fastened her toga.

And she was frowning at him.

"What?" he asked, indifferent, averting his yellow eyes to the end of the tunnel for a moment, then looking back up at her.

She paused, then turned around, and sat down in a dark little crevice in the tunnel wall. "Nothing. But you two ought to get out there," she informed, her snake-bite piercings catching what little light there was inside the tunnel.

"Whatever," Vanitas scoffed, picking up the lens of his mask and snapping it into place, tucking his incredibly spiky hair away as he did. "Come on, Hades, let's get this show on the road," he commanded, walking down the tunnel.

"Ugh, I _HATE_ working with teenagers," Hades moaned, following Vanitas down the tunnel.

Vanitas smirked. The god of the underworld and the very person controlling the Unversed?

Oh, yes. He was gonna win.

~Pyra~

"So, Pyra, once this round is over, you'll be facing off against Herc here," Phil announced.

"Yep, okay," I nodded. "Good to go."

"Um, Phil?" began Lea, "Is there anything I can do to help out around here, what with my being eliminated and all?"

"Yeah, sure, could you possibly go see if the Blue Blaze match is done yet?"

"A'course," Lea smirked, nodding as he walked down the corridor to the arena.

There was a moment of silence, before Zack spoke up. "So, Pyra," he smirked, "who do you think will make the final?"

"How should I know?" I grinned.

"Okay, who do you HOPE will make the final?"

"I'm hoping that I manage to beat Herc, but I can never be sure. Out of you and the winner of the current match, well, I don't know you well, but I know you better than the Hareraisers and team Blue Blaze, so I believe you would make a good opponent," I nodded."

"Huh."

"Team Blue Blaze won," Lea announced, re-entering the vestibule. "Looks like they're your opponents, Zack."

"Aw, yeah," Zack cheered, "I don't have to fight more of those Unversed!"

"Yeah, they get boring after a while…" I mused. "Still, if the round's over, Herc, we're up."

"Don't hold back, okay?" Herc asked, his face determined.

"'Course not," I smirked, "where would be the fun in that?"

"Kick his butt, Pyra!" Lea grinned.

"Screw that," Zack laughed, "go Herc!"

"Both of you get out there and do your best," Phil instructed. "Now, go."

"Yessir!" I saluted, heading down the corridor to the arena. Herc followed, and soon, we were in the sunlight, out before the crowd like actors on a stage. We took up our positions either side of the arena. I looked at Herc once, then said, "No weapons? That's a bit of an edgy move."

"I've been taught to use a sword, but I'm not all that comfortable using it yet. My fists, I know I can rely on," he explained. "Good luck, Pyra."

"Likewise," I nodded, not bothering to summon my scimitars to make it more even. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," he grinned, before releasing a loud battle cry and charging at me.

And so it began.

I jumped as high as I could, flipping over his charge and landing behind him. I whirled on one foot, then skirted around him in a quick reversal, before scoring a number of rapid jab punches to his torso. He staggered a little, threw a few jabs to my collarbone and shoulder, one even got my cheek (painful), then went to throw a haymaker of sorts.

Bad move.

I rolled under his arm as he punched the area I'd just vacated, then caught his arm and pulled it around behind him. I kept stretching his arm backwards in the hold for a fair while, before deciding not to dislocate his shoulder after all, and instead resorted to magic. "Blizzard," I commanded, a casing of ice working its way over his lower arm, and just past his elbow joint, preventing that arm from being able to move.

Ice magic. The bane of my existence. But funny.

I then judo flipped him over my own shoulder, an _ukigoshi_, I think it's called, then jumped back a little way. I'd never done one from behind somebody before.

But it's so much more entertaining seeing them land on their face.

"This is really the best you got?" Herc asked, getting up.

"Oh, no, I'm only warming up," I smirked. "Fira," I grinned, snapping my fingers to reveal a fireball that seemed to overflow out of the palm of my hand.

"Warming up, huh? Well, that's good, 'cause so am I," he grinned evilly, his frozen hand suddenly forming a fist, the ice shattering. He seemed to flex a little, and all the ice encasing his arm cracked. It broke completely, the ice slipping off of his arm and falling to the ground in chunks.

"That's some strength you got there," I laughed, banishing the fireball and sidestepping as he rushed me once more, "unluckily for you, I make up for that extra strength of yours with _speed_." As if to prove my point, I launched myself at one of the pillars marking the corners of the fighting area, and ran up it, back-flipping once I reached the top, and landing behind him again. I kicked him behind the knees swiftly, causing him to lose balance and fall over. "I also have a mean knee-pop."

"Oh, is that really all you got?" He laughed, getting up and launching himself at me. I skirted around him in another quick reversal, and kicked him square between the shoulders. He stumbled forwards a little, so I took the opening as a chance to focus. I concentrated hard on his position, relaxed every muscle in my body…

And then I sprung at him like a hyper compressed spring, attacking him multiple times in my single-second-shotlock. It felt as if time had slowed down a tiny bit (even though I knew it hadn't) and I was moving at twice my usual speed. My fists made contact again and again, until, finally, I slowed down and skidded to a halt. "Not even close," I answered, watching as Herc coughed a few times before getting up.

"Well, then," he mused, stretching out a little, "looks like I'm gonna have to improvise."

He threw a quick jab, and then another, but not so quick that I had no time to block. I caught his first punch, deflected his second, and ducked as he went to throw a third.

My stomach met his foot mid-duck, and I gasped, slightly winded. A feint. Clever. I fell back and skidded a metre or so on my ass, before quickly catching my breath. "So that's how you wanna play, huh?" I grinned, coughing once. He dashed my way. "Well, you ain't seen the best of me yet!" I laughed, rocking backwards onto my shoulders and hands, and pushing myself off of the ground into a kick that sent him flying a few metres backwards whilst also allowing me to get to my feet.

I sprinted behind him, trapping him in a headlock the moment he got up. "My armour is serrated, you know," I told him. "Sorry to have to tell you this, but it's probably best you forfeited."

"God damn," He cursed, tapping my arm a few times. "I give up," he announced.

The audience gave a mixed reaction, but usually, a submission does that. I released Herc from the headlock, and we both headed back down the corridor. I realized I was a little red where he'd kicked me, and where he'd got me with the punch to the collarbone, and my cheek was really sore, maybe kinda swollen, but I looked at him once, realizing that he was probably a fair bit worse off. There was a tiny cut on his neck where my armour had got him, he was grazed in a few places from the few times he went skidding across the floor, and he was red and swollen here and there, from where I'd got him with my shotlock. I remembered what it was like to be on the receiving end of one of those, and they were never fun.

"You alright?" I asked, "Here, let me heal you. Cure," I cast, the worst of his cuts and bruises vanishing.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"Don't mention it," I nodded, then proceeding to heal myself, before eating an ether from my hip pouch. We entered the vestibule, only to be interrogated by Phil, Zack and Lea.

"WHO WON!" They all asked simultaneously.

"Pyra did," Herc told them. "As it turns out, she's pretty strong."

"Hey, nice one," Zack nodded my way.

"Good job," Lea agreed.

"Better luck next time, Herc," Phil gave him a pat on the back, "we'll make a hero out of you yet!"

"I hope so," he smiled. "I'm gonna go grab something to eat, so good luck in your match, Zack!"

"Thanks," Zack nodded, as Herc left the vestibule.

"Now, remember, kid, I got two words for ya," Phil began. "Don't. Get. Cocky."

I watched, silently amused, as Zack pretended to count on his fingers.

"You don't know what this team's gonna be like until ya' get out there and fight 'em," Phil warned. "Be cautious."

"I'll be fine," Zack laughed. "Wish me luck, you two!"

"Good luck," Lea rolled his eyes jokingly.

"Break a leg," I laughed, "but try not to!"

"Thanks, I'll try to keep my leg safe," Zack chuckled, wandering down the corridor, putting on a gold helmet that he'd had tucked under his arm.

"I'm just gonna go find Herc, get some food for myself, you guys want to come?" Offered Phil.

"Nah, I'm good," Lea nodded, sitting with his back against a wall.

"And I've got food," I smiled. "Besides, I need to prepare myself for the final, but thanks anyway."

"Eh, suit yourselves," Phil shrugged, leaving the vestibule.

I sat down next to Lea. "Want a pikelet?" I asked, producing a packet of pikelets from my bag, and un-miniaturising them. "They're good cold."

"Sure," he agreed, taking a pikelet from the bag. "I'm guessing you don't need to prep for the final, then?"

"Not really. I just need to mentally prepare myself for any kind of opponent, that's all," I told him, taking a bite out of a pikelet. I chewed the tiny pancake, before continuing. "So… I do need to prepare, but I don't exactly need to move in order to do it."

"Fair enough," Lea agreed. He paused to eat a bit of his pikelet, before speaking up once more. "I wonder who's gonna win out there, you know, out of Zack and that Blue Blaze team."

"Mm," I nodded, finishing my pikelet, and miniaturizing the packet again, before putting it back in my bag. I put my bag on the floor; might help to have a little extra speed in the final. "I'm hoping it's Zack, so I can test his strength in the final, but he's pretty cocky, it wouldn't do much harm if he got beaten."

Next thing I knew, Zack appeared to have been shoved into the vestibule, and he looked pretty beaten up. I jumped to my feet, then pulled Lea to his, keeping my gaze focused on the entrance.

A tall, blue guy with crooked teeth, clawed hands and flames for hair, dressed in a black toga fastened with a skull pin, entered the vestibule behind Zack. "Piss off, Hades!" Zack spat.

My attention was elsewhere.

In other words, my attention was focused on the masked figure who entered the vestibule after Hades, all clad in his black and red bodysuit. "Vanitas!" I snarled, summoning my scimitars.

"Save it for the arena, loser," he jeered.

"Since when do you play by the rules?"

"Well, what do you know, our opponent in the final is a _girl_," Hades mused, approaching me, "a little blackbird. Second bird I've fought this week. Other was a bluebird. Tough little lady. Actually managed to beat me."

"… Aqua?" I asked, looking at Zack, who nodded.

"Pyra, allow me to introduce you to team Blue Blaze," Zack growled.

"I'm guessing that they beat you?" Lea asked, glaring at Vanitas.

"Yeah, we _did_," Vanitas sniggered, before looking in my direction once more. "I thought you said that he had nothing to do with this?"

"Depends what you mean by 'this'," I hissed. "If by 'this', you mean this little quest I'm on? Yeah. He's coming along with me. If it means the score I have to settle with you? Oh, that's my score, and mine alo-"

"Pyra? He was going to kill me last time. My grudge too," Lea growled.

"Okay, then, fine, he's a part of it now. _DEAL__WITH__IT_," I spat.

"As I said before, save it," Vanitas scoffed. "I'll be waiting in the arena."

I glared after him as he left the vestibule, resisting the urge to summon something sharp and slit his throat.

"Catch you in the ring, Blackbird," Hades smirked, snapping his fingers. He vanished in a wink of orange flames.

Which made me even more peeved.

Wow. Only a week out of Departure, and I was starting to think I'd been absorbing some of his darkness. Dad would not be pleased.

"Zack," I addressed him as he got to his feet, "are there any rules to the Games that I should know about before going in there?"

"You can call for help whenever you want, from whoever you want," he began. "Otherwise, none."

"That ought to do for now, then," I grinned. "Once I'm in the arena, I want you two in the crowd."

"Pyra-" Lea began, but I cut him off.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, but it's good to know I have a couple of back up plans," I grinned at him. "Or, I could just call you in right at the start, so both of you can exact your revenge on whomsoever you please."

He paused, before smiling, not at me, but to himself. "Either works for me, I suppose."

"As long as you leave Hades to me," Zack grinned.

"Naturally," I laughed, grinning evilly. "Now, you two get your butts into the grandstand!"

Zack nodded, before wandering down the corridor. Lea paused by the arch, before turning to speak. "Pyra, Before you go out there…" -he paused for a while- "… Two words for you, okay?"

My heartbeat quickened slightly. I shoved the butterflies away with a punch of hard resolve. I REFUSED to crack now. "Yeah?" I tilted my head a little to one side, stepping forward a little, ready to make my own way down the corridor.

There was a short silence, before he spoke. "… Don't get yourself killed, alright?"

I laughed a little, before smiling to myself. "You sure that ain't five words? Your maths is a little off today," I joked, elbowing him gently. "Besides, I have faith in my back up!"

He looked a little stunned for a moment, before breaking into a broad grin. "I was imitating Phil, but… I'm going to take the last part as a compliment, so… Thank you, Pyra."

"Don't mention it," I smirked. "Now go, I'll be out in a second."

He nodded, then headed down the corridor. I watched as he turned at the end, towards a grandstand.

… God damn.

I really did like that boy.

_PYRA!__THIS__IS__NOT__A__GOOD__TIME__TO__LOSE__FOCUS,_ my subconscious told me, forcing me to jump back into the real world.

Vanitas was waiting in the arena.

"Okay," I mumbled to myself, holding both of my scimitars together, just in front of my face. I drew upon some of my memories of training with my father, mumbling something along the lines of what he used to say to me. "Eliminate fear, embrace strength of heart, mind, body and soul, and vanquish the darkness while searching for the true light within!"

I lowered my blades, then walked tall and proud down the corridor into the arena, and paused near the centre, facing Vanitas.

"Two on one, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's hardly fair."

"Two on one?" Hades asked. He looked as if he was mocking the face of someone extraordinarily confused, whilst also managing to look quite evil.

"Who said anything about 'two'?" Vanitas asked, Keyblade in hand. "Nobody said I couldn't call for back up, idiot."

"Oh, so you're going to try to absolutely annihilate me by using the 'strength in numbers' technique, huh?" I glared. "Well, you can sure try. Call in your back up, then. Let's see just how many numbers you think you'll need."

"Oh, I don't need numbers to kill you," He said in a dark monotone. "I have all that I'll need already. Xehanort just thought that this would make for a more… interesting… display."

There was a long pause, before I saw a black and red booted foot take a step out of the tunnels on the other side of the arena.

It couldn't be…!

"My back up… is myself!" Vanitas laughed maniacally, hands stretched towards the sky, as the figure identical to him walked forwards, past his laughing counterpart, and up to me.

"I've been looking forwards to this, _Pyra_," the second Vanitas spoke smoothly, his voice identical to that of the first.

"Are you a clone or something?" I asked, resisting the urge to tap on his mask and yell, 'Hello-oooo? Are you for real?'

"No," Vanitas-2 replied, stepping forwards once more, so that his mask piece was almost touching my nose, "just the bringer of your doom." They stepped back to flank Vanitas-1, before silently conjuring an icy fog around their hands.

Silent magic…?

… Crap… They'd reached the fourth stage of the arcane arts… And ice magic, too…

In other words, I was absolutely fucked.

"We've called for our back up," Hades grinned, his crooked teeth looking vile in the sunlight. "Better call yours, dollface."

"They're right here," came Zack's voice from somewhere behind me. I looked over my shoulder quickly to see that Zack and Lea had made their descent from the stands and were readying their weaponry.

"And I wouldn't call her that, if I were you," Lea smirked, chakrams in hand.

"Well, this looks like it's shaping up to be quite the fight, and it hasn't even started yet," the second Vanitas mused, stretching out a little. "I hope you kids know what you're getting yourselves into," their tone turned into a sneer.

"I really think that you guys should be the ones who're worrying," I laughed, twirling one of my scimitars by the handle, "because nothing stops me when I'm on a winning streak."

"Really?" Asked the first Vanitas. "Well, let's test that."


	11. Chapter Ten: The Ways Of Fate

Chapter Ten – The Ways of Fate

~Lea~

With next to no warning, the first Vanitas sprung at me, Keyblade raised high. For what was possibly the first time ever, I was prepared for an attack, and managed to block his strike, before quickly dodging to my right. I saw two different blurs of black and red then; one coming for me, one headed for Pyra. I jumped over the first, hoping he was moving so fast that he couldn't stop directly beneath me, then yelled, "Py! Look out!"

She nodded, heeding my warning, flipping onto her hands, and pushing off of them into a kick that landed square in the chest of the second Vanitas. She then proceeded to attempt to maul them with her blades. "Likewise," she warned.

I was suddenly tackled out of the air by the true Vanitas, and I found myself pinned to the ground, the gear-like Keyblade he carried pressed against my neck. "Any last words, weakling?" He spat, laughing to himself.

"Just one," I growled, freeing my leg quickly, "_BALLS._" I kneed him in the groin, before squirming out of his grip. I smirked as his hands flew to the pained area, nodding to myself before turning in Pyra's direction. Vanitas would be out of action for a few minutes, at least.

I quickly ran to help, after delivering a quick kick to his stomach.

"That was a bad idea," came a groan from behind me. I stopped, rooted to the spot, and turned to see him slowly standing to his feet, Keyblade at the ready.

Oh, shit…

~Zack~

"Hades, you bastard," I snapped, slashing at his flames with my sword, attempting to breach his shield, "once I'm done with you, you'll never be able to control people again!"

"You're quite optimistic," he laughed, throwing a few large fireballs my way (which I ducked), "you do know that I'm Lord of the Underworld, right?"

"The dead deserve someone better!" I cut though the middle of a fireball with my blade, landing a direct hit to what I assumed would be his ribcage. There was a splurting noise as a small spray of black blood erupted from the area, but he quickly healed himself.

God dammit…

"You shouldn't have done that," the god growled, "'cause now you've made me _really__MAD_!" The hue of his skin changed to an orangey colour, his toga to read, and his flaming head now glowed a mix of the two. He snapped his arms horizontally out to his sides, flames jetting from each palm. "BURN, BABY!" he hollered, starting to spin himself on the spot.

"No intention to," was my reply as I leapt over one wall of flame, then skidded under another, making my way towards Hades. With a swing of my sword, I scored a long gash along his arm. "Though I do intend to defeat your sorry ass and send you back to the Underworld, where you belong!"

He spun round, cutting a gash across my left cheek with his claw-like fingernails. "You can't kill me," he laughed, as I dodged out of the way of a fireball, "I _RULE_ the Underworld!" He shot multiple fireballs my way, and I was lucky to avoid a majority of them. One nicked my shoulder plate, rebounding off towards Lea.

"Hey, Loverboy! Heads up!" I called, blocking another fireball with my sword. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lea take control of the fireball and shoot it towards one of the masked dudes.

"Don't call me Loverboy!" He snapped, glaring at me, before being tackled to the ground by the now seemingly furious masked guy.

"Then don't take your eyes off of your opponent for more than a second," I smirked, quickly glancing towards him, then turning back to Hades as if it were a staring contest. I raised a hand to my cheek, to find it was oozing blood. It throbbed painfully, but it was a pain that I could ignore.

"Why do you call him Loverboy?" Hades asked, shooting more fireballs my way.

"That's for him to know, and only one other person to find out," I laughed, dodging. "Look at us, two enemies, making small talk in the middle of a battle. THUNDARA!"

He took the lightning bolt to the chest as if it were a stab, staggering back a few feet, before the flames on his head shot up, now burning at least two times brighter than before. "Lightning, huh?" he growled, eyes narrowing. "You remind me of my brother, and now, just like him, I want you DEAD!"

"Have fun with that," I sniggered, leaping out of the way of one of the biggest fireballs I'd ever seen.

Pissing off the god of the Underworld is always interesting.

~Pyra~

"If you aren't a clone, then how come you're identical to Vanitas!" I growled, slashing through the multiple, massive ice projectiles that the second Vanitas was throwing at me, one after another.

"It's a secret," they paused, tapping their forehead, before sending a strong blast of air in my direction. I went flying back a fair way, winded (ironically enough), before re-composing myself, and charging madly, swinging my scimitars about me in an all out quest to strike a blow strong enough to end the darned battle.

"If I win, will you tell me?" I snarled, as they blocked my blades with a wall of ice. I prised them free, casting Fira on them as I went.

"Hmmm… No," they sneered, ducking under a blade, then sweeping my feet from beneath me with a well timed kick. A weak one, mind you, but it still knocked me off balance.

I landed on my tailbone, and a shock went all the way up my spine, causing me to gasp in pain. Reacting as quickly as I could, I threw a flaming scimitar at the Vanitas doppelganger. The blade whizzed through the air in a quick strike raid, striking their ankles. They went falling backwards themselves, as I leapt to my feet. I caught my blade as it returned, pouncing on the doppelganger.

"I've really had enough of this," I snarled, quickly grabbing at the edge of the mask's glass panel. "If you look exactly like the real thing, then it's time to see his face!"

I yanked at the glass, pulling it free. I stared, shocked, at their face.

Vanitas looked just like Ventus… But with slightly more askew black hair and luminous yellow eyes.

"Do you mind?" he asked with a scowl, his hands crackling with electricity. "The sun is getting in my eyes!"

He sprung up, pressing me to the ground, sending strong shocks through my shoulders. I gasped in pain, before kicking him backwards over my head, sending him flying into a pillar. He slammed against it with an incredible thud, before crying out in pain. For a split second, I thought I heard a slightly feminine voice, but I waved it off as a member of the crowd.

"Does it look like I care about your eyes, Ve- I mean, Vani- uh, whoever you are?" I screeched, summoning my lance. I tossed the dark-crystal mask piece at his feet, then I hurled the lance at the him, striking true right in the middle of his left calf.

He howled like a dying cat as I un-summoned my lance, causing it to vanish from his leg. "Cu… CURAGA!" He groaned, voice wavering slightly as he healed his leg.

"Funny," I mused, re-summoning my lance and examining the slightly-too-dark-blood coating the tip, "the other one is much more pain resilient…"

"SHUT UP!" He screamed, sending forth a gust of wind so powerful I went slamming into the pillar diagonally opposite the one that he was resting at the foot of, passing Hades raging at a pretty much unharmed Zack, and the real Vanitas strangling a battered looking Lea, both of their weaponry shunned, and scattered on the floor.

I felt my breath escape my lungs as I hit the pillar. I inhaled deeply, before shunning my lance and re-summoning the crossbow. "Lightcutter!" I growled, shooting about ten bolts of light into each member of the opposing team.

Hades staggered, before looking in my direction and snarling.

Vanitas caught the attack on his shoulder, and was sent tumbling across the ground. He sprang to his feet, then summoned his Keyblade to him, charging at me swiftly.

And the second Vanitas produced a barrier, before teleporting in front of his original, and producing another.

Vanitas the First stopped, then glared through the barrier at his doppelganger. "What the _fuck_ are you doing?" He snarled.

Vanitas the Second ignored the First. "Hades, forfeit. This battle obviously isn't going to be resolved today. Look at yourself, your toga is almost in shreds."

There was a 'Wha…?' to be heard from not only Hades and Vanitas, but from the now un-occupied Zack and Lea, as well.

"Vanitas, we're forfeiting as well," informed the Second, putting his mask piece back on.

"But I was _winning_," the First growled, stepping closer to the Second.

"Yes, but for how much longer? This will be easier to finish _elsewhere_, do you understand?" The Second grabbed the First's wrist, before snapping his fingers and summoning a dark portal. He looked at me. "I'll kill you, Pyra, and your stupid friends, too," he laughed, vanishing into the darkness.

I stood there, gobsmacked.

"Well, I'm outta here, see you for the rematch, Blackbird," Hades glared, before vanishing with a small, flaming explosion.

There was a long silence.

"Well," Zack finally spoke up, "those guys obviously have dreams, but no honour. Angeal would not be proud of them."

For some reason, the crowd cheered.

"Technically, you guys won by forfeit," Phil announced, "so you get this trophy." He held up a shining gold trophy, offering it to me.

"I'll pass, just keep it here for now," I smirked, pushing away the thought of what the Second Vanitas had said to me. "Someone might want it later."

"Your loss," he shrugged, "but at least raise your arms as the champ."

"Fine," I sighed, grabbing the wrists of both Lea and Zack, before raising my arms. The two of them looked at me funny. "Come on, you two helped," I laughed. They shrugged, raising the arms I hadn't raised for them.

No matter how we'd done it, we'd become the champs. And we were going to celebrate.

….

A few moments later, and we were back in the vestibule. I grabbed my bag, hoisting it over my shoulder once more, before nodding my thanks to Phil, and heading outside to the gates, Lea and Zack close behind me. Once we were through the gate and walking down the impossibly large stairway down to ground level, I stopped, and turned on my heel. "Hey, Zack," I asked, "You've been here a while, are there any marketplac- your cheek is bleeding, you really ought to fix that," I changed the subject, noting the X-shaped cut on the side of his face, just above his lower jaw.

"Nah, I took the wound in a fair fight against someone I'd been manipulated by, and I nearly won, with or without it," he shrugged, "I'm gonna let it heal on its own as a reminder to never be manipulated again."

"Fair enough," I nodded.

"By the way, who's Angeal?" Lea asked. I noticed he'd healed himself, although his clothes left much to be desired, hanging in tatters, and he'd missed the odd bruise here and there.

"He was my mentor in my home world," Zack smiled. "He had this big-ass sword that he hardly ever used, because he didn't want to tarnish it, and he had this motto: 'Live your dreams, and protect your honour as SOLDIER'."

"So that's where that came from," Lea mused, "were you part of SOLDIER?"

"Yeah, I was a SOLDIER 2nd class. If I'd stayed, I might have been a 1st by now, but I came here instead. I figured if I trained a lot while I was here, I'd be able to become a 1st as soon as I got back, if I ever did get back."

"Nice," I smirked, "you must really know how to fight. Anyway, market place. Is there one near the foot of these stairs?"

"Yeah, the closest one is down a couple of back alleys, which are usually Unversed-free. If my clothes need mending, there's a shop there that does it insanely fast for insanely little. There's food stalls, potion stalls, even a fortune telling stall. If you can think of it, there's probably a stall for it," Zack explained.

"Works for me," I nodded, "Lea, you might want to get out some of your spare clothes, you're gonna need them."

"Let me guess, we're fixing the set I'm wearing?"

"Ye-" I paused, glaring at Zack, who was in hysterics. "Zack?"

"What's up?" he asked, wiping his eye.

"Shut the fuck up."

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded, saluting, before bursting into hysterics again.

"And stop making false assumptions," I warned. I turned back to Lea. "Damn, these stairs are almost endless. I can just see the bottom, do you feel like being lazy and just flying down?"

"Flying?" Zack chimed in.

"Sure, why not?" Lea agreed.

"Wait, why are we flying? Even better question, HOW are we flying?" Zack asked, looking kinda confused.

"Like this!" I summoned my Keyblade, throwing it backwards into the air and creating a glider. I jumped on the front. "You two should get on the sides, you know, balance it out."

"Got it," Lea nodded, getting on one side.

"This is awesome," Zack grinned, getting on the other, "I so have to get me one of these."

Without a second thought, we were flying towards the market. We landed a short thirty seconds later, touching down just outside the marketplace itself. "Now, Zack, you take Lea to that tailor's, I'll go stock up on potions and things, then I'll go find a food stall, okay?"

"Sure, as long as the food stall sells gyros!" Zack smirked, grabbing Lea's collar and dragging him off somewhere.

Brilliant, now I had time to think. My jeans were still torn from where I'd been attacked by Kain in Enchanted Dominion, and I was still a little bloodied. But, as far as I could tell, they were in no need of repair just yet.

I headed into the market, stocking up on potions and ethers and things at the item stall. I turned around to see three, black hooded women, looking up at me through empty eye sockets. One was clutching a single red eye.

"Uh, can I help you?" I asked, putting my bag back on to my back.

"No, but we can help you," the three women spoke simultaneously. The one holding the eye put it into one of her eye sockets.

"There will come a time towards the end of your journey where two of the people closest to you will die," she announced.

… WHAT?

Another of the three took the eye, stuffing it into one of her eye sockets. "On the night of the second's death, the sun will set a brilliant gold. Three days will pass."

The third woman then stole the eye and put it in one of her eye sockets. "One day, you will relax and try to get over the death of those whom you were close to. The second, you will prepare what you need for an epic battle. The third you will use to prepare your body for this battle."

"And on the fourth day, you will travel out to the battlefield, and there, you will fight what remains of he who caused all this anguish. You will fall," they announced simultaneously.

"Wait a minute," I began, trying to wrap my head around it all, "two people close to me are gonna die, I'm gonna take three days preparing for some battle, and then I'm gonna try to avenge them, and die trying?"

The women laughed amongst themselves. "You have much to learn, child," one sniggered, and they all turned to walk away. "Next time somebody speaks of something important, listen to your fullest ability. Only then will you understand."

I watched as the women left, before shrugging to myself, filing away this prediction of gloom and doom with the second Vanitas' death threat. One, and I may have considered it. Two, nope. Two death threats in one day is probably some twist of fate, or, rather a twist of the leg. Nobody close to my heart would die on this quest, as dangerous as it might be.

I quickly sought out a food stall, purchasing three serves of gyros, before finding my way to the tailor's. There, I found Lea in a hoodie and a pair of jeans (quite attractive), watching as his usual outfit was mended with breakneck speed and accuracy, and Zack, pestering him about something.

"Really, Lea," I couldn't help but overhear a snippet of conversation, "you gotta tell-"

"Tell who what?" I asked, handing each of them a serve of gyros, before sitting on the floor and beginning to eat. "You can tell me this kind of stuff, trust me."

"Maybe some other time," Lea shrugged, also sitting to eat his gyros.

"She can know now, surely!" Zack smirked. "Come on, where's the fun in waiting?"

"If he doesn't want to tell me, he doesn't have to," I noted. "I was just saying that he can trust me if he does."

"Yeah, let me eat in peace," Lea joked.

"Your loss," Zack shrugged. "You'll figure it out eventually, if nobody tells you…"

"Sir, your clothes are mended," exclaimed the woman who had been fixing Lea's clothes, "That'll be 30 munny."

"Sure, of course," Lea nodded, paying for his now neatly folded and well mended clothes. He put them in his backpack, before finishing his gyros. "Damn, those things are good."

"Good call, Zack," I grinned.

"I know, eh? I love them."

"Anyhoo, where to next, Py?" Asked Lea, dusting off his hands on his jeans.

"I'm thinking maybe the Castle of Dreams. Sounds like it'd be right down Zack's alley, and apparently they throw great parties. But first, we get Zack some armour."

"But I have armour…" Zack whined.

"THAT," I smirked, "is a very good point. I could probably alter your armour so that it worked like mine and Lea's… I'd need a template, though…"

"Can't you use yours as a template?" Lea suggested.

And then I had a thought.

"I'll ask the moogle back at Radiant Garden for one once we return. I just realized I could use this opportunity to practice my shielding magic," I noted, as much as I knew I'd regret it later. I finished my gyros.

"Good call," Lea acknowledged, offering a hand up, which I accepted, allowing him to pull me to my feet. "So, should we head off now or in an hour or so?"

"Zack, how eager are you to see other worlds?" I asked.

"I want to see what you mean by 'they throw great parties'," Zack smirked. "So, A LOT.

"Okay then, so let's set off now!" I exclaimed, running towards the edge of the marketplace. "Lea, get your armour on, we're heading out!"

…..

~Zack~

I was sitting on a glider. Zooming through space.

Now, I gotta admit, Pyra sure knows how to travel. And it's way more comfortable than that star-thing that the talking mouse I met had. Speaking of awesome ways to travel, Pyra had changed the armour running down her arm into a full suit of armour, too, and Lea had done the same with a set that he put on just before we left.

'This girl,' I thought to myself, helping Pyra sustain the barrier around me that "protected me from the darkness lurking in the Lanes Between", 'is strange. It's no wonder Lea likes her.'

Not saying that I like her or anything, no, my heart is already set on someone, but she's certainly interesting.

"Hey, how much longer will it take to get there? We've been travelling for about an hour," I asked, raising my voice over the drone of the glider.

"You think I don't know that? My head is killing me," Pyra groaned. "But about ten minutes, at this speed. My glider's been getting faster, recently."

"How fast was it before?"

"It took me three hours to travel about the same distance earlier this week," she answered.

"Hey, I can see it in the distance," Lea announced, pointing at a world with a gleaming silver castle and a cool looking pine forest.

"Looks interesting," I nodded. "How much faster do you think this thing can go?"

"When I'm drained and I see a place to rest, infinitely so!" Pyra yelled, the glider picking up quite a pace as we zoomed towards the new world. I clutched at the nearest solid part of the glider.

"WOOOOO!" I cheered, enjoying the adrenaline that came with the speed.

"Don't forget about that barrier, Zack," Pyra warned, "if you do, your driver may just fall unconscious…"

"Yes ma'am," I scoffed, continuing to hold the barrier as we shot through the atmosphere of the world. Pyra pulled up on the glider, stopping millimeters from the ground in the middle of the pine forest. The sky looked as if the sun had just set.

"Now you can bring it down," Pyra nodded, withdrawing her magical input from the barrier. I released my own, before stepping off of the glider. The other two did likewise.

"So this is the Castle of Dreams," I mused, looking up at the castle. It seemed to be radiating a glorious white light. "Neat name."

"It definitely suits the place," Lea nodded, de-activating his armour.

"Tell me about it," Pyra deactivated her own armour, and her glider vanished, as she wandered into the darker depths of the forest. "I'll be back in a moment, just gonna go put on a jacket."

"You can put a jacket on out here, you know," I raised an eyebrow.

"I'd rather go into the forest, thanks," she smirked, continuing to walk into the forest until she blended in with the trees, and neither Lea nor myself could see or hear her.

"She's got a scar on her shoulder, I don't think she likes people seeing it," Lea noted.

"Then how come you've seen it?"

"Some of it's visible from underneath her armour. I don't even think that what you can see is half of it."

"Fair enough."

Pyra emerged from the forest, now wearing an ash grey hooded jacket, emblazoned with the same emblem that she, along with Terra, Aqua and Ven wore. "Okay, who votes 'let's go to the castle'?"

"No point hanging around here all night, that'd be no fun at all. So let's go!" Lea grinned.

"I'm with the ranga on this one," I joked.

Lea's response was a backhand to the back of my head. But I could deal.

"Alright, let's go then!" Pyra smiled, and we set off towards the castle.

….

~Pyra~

After making our way out of the forest and across the (might I say Unversed INFESTED?) courtyard, we found ourselves at the door to the castle. I looked it up and down, before pushing it open to hear the thrum of an orchestra at the other end of the hall. There was confetti on the floor, and glorious white ribbons draped from the roof.

"Looks like we have good timing," I smirked, "seems like we came just in time for a party!" I went to sprint down the hall, to come face to face with a Bruiser Unversed. "Pity about the gate crashers, though," I mused, jumping to the wall, and pushing off of it, summoning my lance as I did, taking it out with one neat stabbing motion.

"Like you can talk, Pyra," Zack sniggered. "You're gatecrashing just as much as the Unversed are!"

"Shut up, we have an excuse," I snapped. "We're protecting them from the Unversed."

"She has a point," Lea raised an eyebrow in Zack's direction.

"See? At least Lea gets what I mean." I continued jogging down the hallway, randomly twirling my lance, just cause. A few Unversed later, and we'd reached a large room with a giant set of stairs in the middle. There was a man with a moustache and a monocle standing by one side of the staircase, looking at us with a confused expression on his face.

"May I help you?" He asked as we approached.

"We're here for the party," Zack grinned.

"The reception started an hour ago, you're terribly late, my friends," he tutted, "and you don't appear to be dressed for the occasion…"

"That's because we're here to take care of the monsters, for the most part," Lea informed.

"Oh? Like the young man who eliminated the musical beast last week?"

"Did he have brown or blonde hair?" I asked.

"Brown as a bear."

"Then yes, we're here in case something like that happens. However, we would like to enjoy the festivities, too. What are you celebrating?"

"The marriage of the prince himself and his beautiful bride Cinderella, of course! As if you didn't know!"

"A marriage?" Zack whined. "This is a wedding party?"

"Deal with it, it's still a party," I scolded, "besides, I may not look like it, but I know how to waltz, therefore, I quite like ballroom things."

Zack's jaw dropped.

"Anyway," I turned back to the butler, "We'll be making our way upstairs now, so thanks for your time!" I flashed him a brief smile, before grabbing the boys' wrists and marching up the stairs. "Come on, boys, we're attending a royal ball, time to learn to deal with it."

…

~Lea~

We reached the top of the staircase to see another hallway, though shorter than the first, and the door at the end was open. I caught glimpses of people swirling past in suits and ball gowns, and I could hear snippets of conversation over the hum of the orchestra.

And then came a few screams, and the people seemed to scatter. The orchestra stopped, and I could hear drums falling over.

"We're going in THERE," Pyra laughed slightly evilly, tugging on both my wrist and Zack's, running towards the ballroom. "That's gotta be an Unversed. Killer timing, huh?"

"Killer? Well, when you put it that way," Zack shrugged, pulling his wrist free, and producing his sword from where he'd had it on his back.

Pyra let go of my wrist, summoning her scimitars. She threw a glance my way, to which I nodded, summoning my chakrams.

We burst into the ballroom to see a large Unversed hovering in the center, bound in chains and in a gibbet. Its eyes twitched a few times, before it struggled in its bindings briefly.

"Shit," cursed Pyra, "I'm glad I'm not alone for this one…"

"Why…?" I asked, my voice trailing off. The Unversed started spinning rapidly, flames escaping from gaps in the gibbet.

"This is the first incarnation of the Iron Imprisoner Unversed… Incredibly strong… And almost impossible to defeat alone at our current skill levels…"

"So… Essentially…"

"Someone's probably gonna get severely hurt this time…" Pyra mused, eyebrows furrowing. She took a battle stance. "EVERYONE OUT OF THE BALLROOM," she yelled, "UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE KILLED!"

Nearly everyone raced out of the room. Except for one band member, who seemed to be caught under a drum. "Help!" he called, "I can't move it! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

I moved back a few paces, before stretching my arm forwards. "FIRE!" I yelled, a fireball shooting from the center of my chakram's crossbar, striking the drum hard enough for it to be sent flying away from the drummer.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" the drummer bowed, blonde ponytail falling over his shoulder as he did, before he adjusted his spectacles and sprinted out of the room.

I turned back to the Unversed, to see Zack hacking at whatever he could reach, and Pyra leaping through the air, her scimitars crackling with electricity. She made contact with the head of the Unversed, before it caught fire and started spinning again, and she was sent flying across the ballroom and collided with a wall. There was a loud thump as she hit the ground, but she stood up again, her concentration seemingly unbroken.

"Well, no point in just hanging around on the sidelines," I told myself.

With a loud roar, I leapt into battle, holding my chakrams high.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Ballroom Blitz

Chapter Eleven – Ballroom Blitz

~Pyra~

I watched from the corner of my eye as Lea leapt into battle, smacking the Iron Imprisoner with all he had. His skills had improved phenomenally since I'd met him; he'd changed from a fleeing bystander to a fierce ally. Personally, I was glad to have him on my team, for more reasons than one.

Yeah, you know the other reason.

But, I digress.

"Better get to it, then!" I told myself, concentrating hard on the Iron Imprisoner. Since I'd met Lea, I'd improved, myself. Become better at magic. Faster, too. And stronger, physically and mentally. I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of him that I ended up figuring out how to use the Keyblade.

I concentrated on the giant Unversed even harder, crouching down. I tightened all of my muscles, breathing slowly and steadily.

"Thundaga," I grimaced, my blades crackling loudly as I ran a strong current through them both.

… _NOW!_

"KYAAAH!" I cried, releasing my energy in my sonic-fast shotlock, slashing multiple, giant, crackling gashes across the body of the Iron Imprisoner as I rebounded off of the walls with lightning speed. I skidded to a halt a scant one and a half seconds later. A longer shotlock than usual, but it was a bigger enemy than usual, hence I needed to damage it as much as I could.

"Nice one," shouted Lea, over a pained cry from the Unversed, and also the clanging of Zack's sword.

I nodded my thanks, banishing the lightning on my blades. God, my brain hurt.

_Can't stop now_.

I ignored my throbbing headache and my slightly slack muscles and leapt for the Iron Imprisoner, hoping it wouldn't do that spinning magic fire thing. As I bounded across the room, I felt something shift in the ground.

… What?

Suddenly, a cage burst out of the ground, trapping me. "Why…" I muttered, laughing to myself, "Why is it that it's always me needing to be rescued…?" I crouched down once more, focusing on the bars of the cage, hoping nobody had noticed that I was now trapped. I released the shotlock, slashing at the bars in a cooped up frenzy. The cage fell to pieces around me, before blinking out like dead stars.

That would do.

Then the Unversed's gibbet started glowing.

This wouldn't be good.

"REFLECT!" I yelped, just in time for my shield to protect me from one of about seven giant laser beams. The Unversed rotated slowly, burning black lines into the floor. "LEA, ZACK, MIND THE LASERS!"

The two stopped attacking the Unversed, pausing momentarily, before throwing themselves out of the range of the lasers. After a short while, the Unversed stopped lasering everything, and they returned to bashing the damned thing.

Unfortunately, that was when it began to spin.

It spun like a flaming spinning top towards me, and I dodged out of its crash course to avoid being burned to death. I looked around for something filled with water.

A punch bowl. That would do.

"Water!" I hollered, maneuvering the liquid so that it was now spraying out the flames the gibbet was shooting. "Come on, come on, come on, just stop spinning…"

The Unversed stopped spinning long enough for me to leap up high and slash at the thing's head. If I timed this well, I just might be able to defea-

There was a loud (pretty sure it was just loud to me) 'thwhup' noise as the Unversed headbutted me square in the chest. I fell to the ground, winded for the second time today. And geez, was it getting old.

_Do NOT give up now. You've almost defeated the thing, surely, _I told myself. I didn't entirely believe it, but then again, I couldn't entirely believe that I was still alive two minutes into a fight against an Iron Imprisoner.

I took a deep breath, slowly getting up. There was a sharp, jabbing pain in the left side of my chest, and I gasped in pain. Fuck, it broke a rib. I wasn't the best at healing, but I'd HAVE to fix that. SOON.

I banished my blades and gently clutched at my side with one hand, stepping back a little way, before raising my other arm, extending it in the direction of the Unversed. This had to work. This HAD to. "THUNDAGA SHOT!" I hollered, shooting a giant ball of lightning at the Unversed. It stuck true square in the middle of the Iron Imprisoner's chest area, yet it still failed to knock the thing out.

And it also sent a strong jolt through my body, jiggling the broken rib painfully. I cried out in pain, dropping to my knees.

_No giving up, you idiot! Get up, _I told myself, standing to my feet. I noticed Lea looking over in concern. "I'm fine, trust me," I nodded through gritted teeth, summoning one of my scimitars in my left hand, clutching at my side with the other. "You're good at aerial attacking, right?"

"Pyra, are you sure you're-"

"I'm fine, now just answer the damned question!" I snapped, whacking at the Unversed's gibbet, trying not to shift my rib too much. It responded by thrashing a little and smacking me in the forehead. I fell to the ground with a loud moan, my head spinning, my rib throbbing. I got up dizzily and jumped back a little way, out of range of any more physical attacks. I could feel a trickle of blood stream down my forehead.

"You don't look fi-" The Unversed then thrashed some more, hitting Lea in the head, too. He fell down with a whump, groaning, before rolling backwards towards me. I noticed he had a reddish looking patch on his arm where he'd burnt himself and healed it before it could scar, and there was a cut on his shoulder. "You don't _seem_ fine… But yeah, I can do aerial attacks, no sweat."

"Feel like helping me do a two person combo attack?" I helped him up with my free hand, wincing at the strain on my rib. Damn, EVERYTHING seemed to hurt it. I could tell Lea noticed my facial expression wavering, but I pretended I didn't notice. "I give you a boost, you shoot over the thing's head, swiping at it like crazy, rebounding off of anything that'll keep you in the air longer, and while it's paying attention to you, I shoot a barrage of thunderballs at it."

"Someone who seems to be in tons of pain, give me a boost? Into the air? And then shoot craptonnes of advanced magic at a giant monster?" Lea shook his head. "This isn't your best idea ever, Py."

"Neither was leaving my homeworld without knowing how to properly land my glider, but I'm still here, aren't I?" I grinned, ignoring the pain in my side. It hurt to breathe, like, heaps, and I figured that continuing to get beaten up by the Unversed after I broke it must have jolted it out of place.

"Pyra, really, just heal yourself first, eat an ether, do something. Just don't… don't hurt yourself any more than you already are."

"Really, your worrying is flattering," I smirked, dodging a laser, "but if we don't act fast, there'll be nothing left to hurt."

"GOT THAT RIGHT," Zack yelled from the other side of the room, where he had taken to preparing a shotlock of sorts. "JUST DO IT, MAN!"

"Fine, I'll do it…" Lea sighed, stepping back a little way, "if you pass out, out of pain or something-"

"I'm not that weak. It'll be something stupid, like mental strain."

"Fine, then, if you pass out, I swear, I'll never forgive this plan of yours."

"STOP WORRYING, it's just a broken rib, I can deal. Now, go, I'll give you a boost!"

He sighed, mumbled something to himself, before running at me. "You'd better not regret this!" He smirked as he jumped into the air. I positioned my hands beneath his feet as he fell.

With a groan, I alley-ooped him towards the Unversed, my rib grinding a little. I ignored the pain, as aggravating as it was, before splaying my palms out towards the Unversed. "THUNDAGA SHOT!" I roared, shooting another giant ball of electricity at the Unversed. My head throbbed, one giant, loud pulse, and I knew I didn't have far to go before I DID pass out.

Damn, you, Lea, as much as I might like you, why do you have to be _right_?

I looked at the head of the Unversed, which was now in the process of being battered by Lea. Zack was working on the gibbet and the rest of the body with a shotlock attack. Which left me.

Time for a different approach. One which allowed me to thunder that thing like a boss without too much hassle. A 'Command Style', no less. "THUNDERBOLT!" I cried, my entire body slowly becoming enveloped in electricity. The simplest way of cloaking yourself in an element without it doing any damage to yourself.

Without a thought to my rib or my dwindling stamina reserves, I rushed the Unversed. I was running off of impulse now, nothing else. I summoned a single scimitar, before slashing a giant, crackling gash into the gibbet. I felt a sharp pang in my side, but ignored it, slashing and swiping at the Unversed like a crazed maniac. With every slash, the electricity flowing around my body gained charge, until it was almost too powerful to control.

Usually, when it becomes that powered up, there are two options. One, perform a move which releases it all from the tip of your weapon, and the power arcs out around you in an electrical storm. Two, convert it into another, new, more powerful Command Style.

Didn't want to risk hitting the guys with the first option, and I didn't really know any advanced Command Styles (and they'd be risky, what with my rib, although it wasn't as if I hadn't taken any risks already), so, I did something a little different. I leapt back a little way, crackling and buzzing, then pointed my scimitar at the Unversed, both hands on the hilt of the blade. I focused a little, then released the energy, and it shot out the tip of the blade just like the Thundaga Shot spell. It collided with the Unversed in a brilliantly bright impact, sparks flying everywhere as the Unversed faded from existence.

Then, with one almighty throb, my brain blacked out, and I fell unconscious.

…..

~Lea~

The Unversed vanished, and I dropped to the ground with a sigh of relief. Well. Until I landed awkwardly, and I felt something in my ankle shift in a way that it shouldn't. "OW!" I yelped, falling on my butt and grabbing my ankle. Sprain? Possibly? Perhaps?

Then I remembered. Pyra had a broken rib.

Ladies first, I guess.

I looked over to where she'd been going insane with that lightning-form-blitz-thingy she knew how to do to see her lying on the floor, apparently unconscious. I slapped a palm to my forehead, before making my way over to her. I told her so. I really did.

"Lea, really, man, for someone who seems as at home with aerial attacks as a bird in the sky, you're pretty crap at landing, huh?" Zack commented, hands in his pockets as he walked over to the entrance of the great ballroom. "I'm gonna let the guests know that the 'monster' is gone. You look after your unconscious girlfriend, now!" he sniggered, before swiftly leaving the room.

I frowned in his general direction for a while, before limping the rest of the way over to Pyra. "Pyra," I said, crouching down next to her quietly, in a way so as to avoid hurting my ankle further. "I'm getting an ether, okay?" I reached into the bag on her back, taking an ether out, before closing it again. "Now hurry up and come to already…"

Nothing.

She was breathing and all… but she was just… lying there, sorta curled up on her side, unconscious.

"Come on, wakey wakey…" I gently shook her by her shoulder.

"That kinda hurts my head…" she mumbled, blinking a couple times.

Without a thought, I shoved the ether in her mouth. "Maybe you should eat that, then," I shrugged.

She looked at me, her face a mask of surprise, a corner of the ether sticking out of her mouth, before she chewed it a few times and swallowed. "Uh, thanks," she smirked, before digging around at her ribcage, eyes narrowing as she gritted her teeth.

"The hell're you doing!" I demanded, "You gotta heal that!"

"It's not quite… in the right spot," she groaned, before suddenly, her mouth flicked up a little at the corners, and she looked at me once more. "If I pass out again after fixing my rib, which is quite possible, considering as my head is still pounding, could you possibly drag me over to that wall and heal the cut on my forehead?" She pointed to the wall opposite the one the band was set up next to.

"Sure, but I'll be waking you up as soon as you're there. You know, if I can," I smirked. "Just so I can pay you out for going unconscious twice in ten minutes."

"It wasn't and wouldn't be without good reason," she grinned, before touching two fingertips to my shoulder, where I'd cut it before. "Cure," she winced, and the wound healed over. She then did the same to my ankle, which had gone bright red in the past two minutes. Within seconds, it felt perfectly fine.

"Wait, you said-"

"I said I'd probably pass out healing my rib. Never said I wouldn't do anything else first. Besides. You're a teammate, and I don't like seeing teammates wounded." She nodded once, smiling, before holding both hands above her broken rib. "Cura!"

Her hands glowed, and from inside her jacket, I could tell her chest was glowing too. She glowed for a full four seconds, before her chest dulled. And then, with a loud groan from their master, so did her hands. I made sure to stop her head from hitting the hard, stone floor as she fell unconscious, on her face an expression of both pain and triumph.

Without thinking, I quickly healed her forehead, took her bag and slung it over my shoulder, then picked her up (slightly more difficult than I thought; she's thin, but her lean-looking muscles are strong, and therefore dense, and therefore heavy) and carried her over to the wall she'd asked to be dragged over to, making sure to put her down gently. I carefully wiped the blood from her face with my sleeve, then took off my jacket. The shirt underneath read: I'M WITH STUPID, and had an arrow pointing to my right.

Note to self: Stand next to Zack.

Or, alternatively, next time I run into him, wear this shirt around Isa.

Either would work.

I sat against the wall Pyra was slumped against, before removing a slightly bigger ether from her bag. I put it next to her hand so she'd be able to grab it the moment she woke up and relieve whatever mental pain she was in. As damn good as she was at concealing it… I don't think I'd ever enjoy seeing her in pain.

Zack, however?

Oh, he deserved at least a slap to the face. But then again, he's nice enough. And I can't stay mad for long. Even if he seems to be paying me out constantly. When I thought about it, I figured that might have been why I put up with Isa for so long. I just put up with people's crap too much.

New motto: No more putting up with people giving me crap.

Zack being the only exception, because technically, this is Pyra's journey, and she invited him to come along. So I would put up with his crap. But only as long as it seemed like he was just joking about.

Otherwise, oh, he'd definitely be getting that slap.

I heard Pyra stirring next to me, and my attention snapped back in her general direction. "You 'right?" I asked subconsciously.

As if to answer my question, she slowly raised her head, shook it carefully, then stuffed the ether in her mouth. She chewed. She swallowed.

She nodded.

"Good. Wanna go help Zack bring the people back in here?" I asked.

"Sure," she said with a satisfied grin, picking up her bag and standing up. She stretched her hand towards me. "Thanks for dragging me over here."

"Yeah, dragged," I smirked, picking up my jacket and accepting her hand in getting up, "that's what I did."

It was then that I realised that if Zack had seen me, he would have given me so much crap…

"… I'm thinking you didn't drag me then," Pyra laughed. "Otherwise you wouldn't have said that, nor would your face have changed from a 'HAHA LOL' face to a 'wait, shit' face."

"You noticed that, huh?" I sniggered. "Well, fine, didn't want you getting friction burns, so I carried you, and I just realised that Zack would'a given me shit for it," I admitted, wandering towards the entrance to the now slightly singed ballroom.

"Why would he have done that?" Pyra asked, her face a mask of curiosity.

"Remember this morning? When he said he thought we 'made quite the couple', or something like that?" My heart rate increased by about twenty beats per minute. "He seems to be continuing with that sort of stuff behind your back."

I noticed her cheeks had turned a little pinker. "He's probably doing it behind my back 'cause I went a little schizo at him earlier…" She said maybe a little more forcibly than she meant to, tugging the bottom of her jacket down a little as she walked alongside me.

'_Oh, I wish that was why,' _I thought to myself. Instead, I said, "You're probably right," and minimised my jacket, before shoving it in my bag with the rest of my clothes, all mended from my day at the Coliseum.

"Yeah…" she seemed thoughtful now, slightly out of it. Then, suddenly, her mind seemed to wander off on a tangent, because she said, "I wonder what happened to that drummer…"

"He's probably either being a liar and bragging to the rest of the orchestra-band-whatever-thing about how he got a few punches in, or cowering under a table or something," I joked.

"Maybe. It's probable…"

"Alternatively, he could be drumming against a wall or something."

"True, true…" She mused, as we walked through the entrance to the ballroom out into the giant foyer sort of bit. She took a deep breath, before yelling, "Alright, guys, party's back on, we killed the monster, you can all go back in now!"

There were multiple sighs of relief and also some cheering from the crowd, and within seconds people were pushing past us, eager to return to the ballroom. I mean sure, the walls were mildly scorched, and some of the decorations were a little tatty now, but it was still a party they planned to enjoy.

"There you two are! I was starting to wonder what you were getting up to!" Zack grinned as he approached us. This earned him a death glare. "I was just sayin', jeez!" He protested.

"Yeah well, you didn't do what you said you'd be doing," I raised an eyebrow. I noticed Pyra had migrated back into the ballroom with everyone else.

"What WERE you doing, might I ask?"

"She woke up, healed my wounds, healed her rib, fell unconscious again, I put her by a wall, healed her forehead, she woke up again, we came out here. We're _not going out_, what else would there be to do?" I frowned.

"You could have ASKED her out, you know. You don't know what her answer will be until you try," he announced matter-of-factly.

"No!" I shook my head. "I mean, what if she says no! And then it'll be awkward! And it'll be weird having me around and everything!"

"You think too much. Just go for it!" He grinned, elbowing me in the ribs as he pushed past me into the ballroom.

"… Maybe later. I'll think about it."

There would be no WAY I'd be trying that any time soon.

I turned around to look at the ballroom. Pyra had produced an electric guitar and an amp from somewhere and seemed to be coaxing the drummer and the man with the double bass to play along with whatever she was planning. She then turned towards the people milling around in the middle of the room, and yelled something out. I heard the words 'dedicated' and 'newlyweds' mentioned, before she started playing 'Unintended' by Muse.

A strangely fitting song, considering my mood.

Due to the lack of microphone, there was nobody singing, but I could see Pyra mouthing the words as she played. She seemed deep in thought again, but who wouldn't be, when they were trying to remember the words to a song? I looked at the double bassist and the drummer, who seemed to have picked up the beat, key, and type of song almost immediately, and were now playing along, one gently tapping the drum kit, the other plucking the strings of his massive violin lookalike to the beat and tune of the song.

I went over to where Zack had sat himself at a table by the wall. It was, miraculously, un-scorched, and I sat at a chair opposite my newest teammate. "You know this song?" I asked.

"I've heard it once or twice. I don't really like Muse a whole lot… I'm more a Foster The People kind of guy," he nodded, folding his arms.

"Funny, I pictured you to be the Skrillex type," I smirked. "Or Nero."

"I hate Nero. Skrillex is okay… I like his remix of Cinema…"

"That one by Benny Ber-whatever-his-name-is?"

"Bernassi, I think."

"Again, didn't take you to be that kind of guy."

"I'll listen to almost anything. Apart from trashy covers of songs from a million years ago, coughNero. What's your favourite band?"

"I dunno. I just listen to stuff. Muse, Coldplay, Evermore, The Beatles, Birds Of Tokyo, Gotye… Just stuff, really. Oh, I do like Pendulum," I added.

"You? Pendulum? You? Most of their stuff is pretty… Well… Not like the rest of the stuff you mentioned."

"If they make it well, I'll listen to dubstep. Besides, I listen to their more drum and bass stuff, not much of the rest. I like when it has a tune, you know?"

"Tunes are good," Zack agreed. Pyra, the double bassist and the drummer had finished up on the song, and Pyra was shrinking the guitar and the amp down to go back into her bag. The orchestra/band/whatever had gone back to more classical stuff now. Moments later, Pyra was dancing amongst the crowd, waltzing up a storm.

"Can you waltz? Seems like a majority of the people here can, as unlikely as it seems," Zack mused, sitting back in his chair.

"I'm alright at it. I mean, I haven't done it in a while, but just after my parents died, my aunt taught me how to waltz to give us something to do," I answered quietly.

"Your parents are dead?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. Why'd you ask if I could waltz?" I was curious.

He stood up then, and kicked me out of my chair. "Go dance with her."

I stared at him as if to say 'WHAT THE HELL MAN!'

"Go on, go dance with her!" He shoved me into the crowd just as she twirled by, causing the two of us to collide.

"Oh, hey Lea, what's up?" Pyra asked, stopping to steady the two of us.

"Nothing, Zack just pushed me, is all," I told her, smirking. "He told me to dance with you."

"Do you WANT to dance?" She asked.

… Wait, was that an offer?

"Maybe a little… Do you?" I asked, a smile spreading across my face.

"Sure, just don't step on my toes, you might spear yourself on my boots," she laughed. "You had better know how to waltz."

"I do, but if I didn't, would we be shuffling instead?" I grinned, taking her in the kind of dance hold that waltzing called for.

"Naturally," she grinned back, and we began dancing. "So, what's your opinion of this world?" She asked.

"It's interesting," I mused. "Do Unversed that big usually just appear like that?"

"They can do. It happens," Pyra nodded. "I gotta say, this party turned out to be more interesting than I expected it would."

"I suppose," I agreed, before deciding to ask something that had been bothering me. "Hey, how did you get that scar on your shoulder?"

"What scar?" She cocked her head to one side, and for a moment, it was an almost convincing sign she knew nothing of it. But I wasn't fooled.

"The one you cover up with your armour. Come on, you know the one, stop pretending you don't."

"OHHHHHH, you mean the burn scar on my arm, oh, right, yeah, that one…" Her voice got quieter and quieter throughout the sentence. "I was playing with fire about a year and a half ago, and I accidentally pointed it into the wind…"

… Then…It covered her whole arm?

I could now understand why she hid it…

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I asked, concerned.

"I didn't want you judging me for what my arm looked like. After it happened, and I went back to everything with it uncovered, people would look at me funny, think of me as weak. Hell, when I met Vanitas, he did this attack which made my armour come off, and he called me a _cripple_. I knew he was a dick anyway, but a _cripple_! That's why when I meet new people, I don't show them, because I hate being judged before I get a chance to prove what I'm really like."

"Having a burn on your arm doesn't change the way you are," I told her. "Just the way you look. Why would I judge you for something like a burn?"

"Thanks," she smiled, "but one can never be too sure about another's opinion unless they can see into the other's mind."

"Can you?" I asked, slightly worried that if she did, she might have seen that I liked her.

"Me? No, but my dad taught me how to detect how much light someone has in their heart. You're… mostly light, with only a little darkness."

"How do you do that?" I asked.

"It's difficult to explain… I guess, in a way, you clear your thoughts and try to see people for the way they really are. After a while, it becomes second nature, and you can tell with almost anyone you meet. Kind of like that whole 'spiritual pressure' thing in that manga, Bleach."

"Fair enough. I'll give it a go next time I meet someone new," I mused.

It was then that the orchestra stopped playing, and everyone, including Pyra and myself, stopped dancing to applaud them. The butler walked over to where they were now packing up, and called out, "And with that final dance comes the end of tonight's festivities. Thankyou to the young trio who banished the monster earlier, your services are greatly appreciated, and thankyou to all of our fine guests for attending this evening. We wish you all the safest of travels on your way back to wherever you may be staying. Thus concludes the night's events."

Just like that, the ballroom began emptying, and eventually, Zack, Pyra, myself, a blonde lady in a glimmering white wedding dress, a man in a posh looking brigadier suit and the butler were the only ones left. Pyra approached the butler.

"Um, you wouldn't happen to know any places we could stay, would you? We're from out of town, see, and we were in such a hurry to get here that we forgot to make reservations anywhere," she told the butler. She sounded pretty damn convincing.

"Well-"

"They can stay here in the castle, if they so desire," spoke the man in the brigadier suit. He turned to Pyra. "It's the least we could do, what with you three banishing that strange monster earlier on. We do have some guest rooms we could definitely spare."

"Thankyou!" Pyra smiled, bowing slightly.

"The pleasure is all ours," beamed the lady in the wedding dress. She looked at the butler, and said, "Could you show them to their rooms, please?"

"Of course, lady Cinderella," bowed the butler, directing us out of the ballroom, down a hallway, and to three doors at the very end, one next to the other. "I'm certain you will find these rooms more than adequate," he informed the three of us. "Do enjoy your visit to the castle, and may you rest well after the day's events."

He then wandered off back in the direction from which he came.

"That Cinderella girl had a heart of pure light… Not many of those," Pyra mused, opening the door at the very end of the corridor. "Anyway, I'm gonna go rest up, but before I do, next world we go to, we gotta sort that. Radiant Garden, to get Zack some armour, or some colourful world none of us have seen before?"

"I vote Radiant Garden, I wanna see how the moogles make that armour," Zack said. "Besides, those other worlds aren't exactly going anywhere."

"I agree with Zack. Besides, we need to introduce him to the fountain in the Outer Gardens, you know, give him a proper induction," I smirked.

"Done deal," Pyra grinned evilly. "Radiant Garden it is. Alright then, g'night, boys!" She slinked inside her door, shutting it behind her.

"Night," I smirked, entering the room next door. I closed the door behind me, before collapsing on the bed and falling asleep like the semi-lazy teenager I was.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Reality Burns

Chapter Twelve – Reality Burns

~Pyra~

I awoke in the early morning to the sound of something scratching at the door, and loudly at that. It was too loud to be a cat, even too loud to be a person with long nails.

Naturally, I got up to investigate. I blinked myself awake, wandered over to the door, and opened it to find –and what else could it be- an Unversed. Scratch that, seven Unversed. The little Scrapper type. You know the ones. I folded down the edge of a glove to sneak a peek at my watch. 4:30 AM.

"Do you buttwipes ever just GIVE UP?" I groaned. I pointed at the ceiling. "Thunder."

I wiped my eyes with my free hand as lightning seemed to fall from the ceiling and strike down every Scrapper in the corridor. If a simple Thunder spell was enough to beat these guys, then maybe I was cut out for magic. Just didn't have the drive.

"Let that be a lesson to ya'," I nodded, picking up the dropped Munny before turning to go back into my room. Then I realised it would probably be pointless; I sleep like the dead, but once I wake up, that's it, I'm awake, no changing that.

So, instead, I just sat on the floor in front of my door, keeping watch with crossbow in hand.

I heard something to my left, and instantly swung round, crossbow armed and ready, pointed at the source of the noise.

Lea had just left the room next to mine, eyes wide at the threat of a crossbow loaded with something sharp and pointy. "Mind where you're wavin' that thing…" He eyed the crossbow groggily but cautiously, hands in the air.

"Sorry," I apologised, "damn Unversed woke me up about ten minutes ago, I'm keeping watch to make sure nothing else comes down here. Guess I'm a little jumpy at this time of morning. What you doing up?"

"I heard the Unversed, too, but only just before you zapped them," he smirked. "I got up cause it's boring just staring at the ceiling."

"Too right it is," I agreed, nodding sleepily. I played with my sleeve absentmindedly, crossbow on my lap, locked to safe as I leaned against the wall, eyes shut. Damn, was I drowsy.

"Hey, what's that emblem you wear mean? The sort of spiky heart shaped one," Lea asked groggily, wiping his eyes and blinking a few times.

"It means I can use the Keyblade. Two thirds of the people I know with Keyblades wear this emblem somewhere on their clothes," I explained, looking at the emblem embroidered into my jacket. "I like it, as much as I can't do shit with the Keyblade, I've worn the emblem since I was eight-ish."

"Fair enough," Lea nodded, sinking down the wall, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he shut his eyes, relaxing. "It's nice in this world," he mused.

"I agree," I smirked. "The parties could use a bit more oomph to their music, though. Everything else is pretty good."

"Good company?" Lea opened his eyes, looking up at me from where he was lying on the floor.

"Yeah, why else would I have you guys here?" I nodded, hoping my cheeks weren't as red as they felt. _Damn straight I ain't telling him,_ I thought.

"A good point," he smirked, shutting his eyes again. He hadn't noticed, brilliant.

There was a scuffle from the end of the hall, and instantly, my hands were on the crossbow, and the crossbow was pointed at the source of the noise, no longer clicked to safe. A Bruiser. I fired, and the bolt in the action hit the mark perfectly, Bruiser now flailing on the ground as it struggled to get up. I loaded another arrow from the quiver on my back, then fired, hitting the thing dead centre. It vanished, and I got up to collect the Munny it dropped, as well as my arrows. I returned to find Lea staring at me.

"Two shots ain't that many," he noted, "and that's a lot of Munny."

"Enchanted bolts," I told him, "imbued with light energy. Defeats any dark thing about two times as quick as normal, and I don't need to exert myself to do it. Thankyou, Dad," I smirked, looking at the ceiling as if I could see Departure through it.

"Your dad must be good at magic and stuff," Lea smirked.

"He has to be, he runs the Keyblade Academy in my world. Has done since his teacher handed over to him. He's a Keyblade Master, kinda like how I'm not quite ready to be one yet," I laughed.

"You'll get there. If I've learnt anything about you in the past… Five days now? It's that you're persistent. You'll do it, I know you will."

"It'd be good if I did, but it's just that the damned wrist guard keeps getting in the way! I just can't seem to be able to work with it, not knowing that it's there."

"Then pretend it's not. That might help," He suggested. "Ignore it."

"Doubt that'll do much," I mused, sitting down beside him once more.

"You never know until you try."

"I guess."

There was a long, yet accepted silence. It's good when you have a friendship with someone where you can just sit in silence without it being awkward. It's kinda relaxing.

Eventually, I put up my hood, and slid down the wall, falling asleep on the floor in the hallway.

…..

I awoke a few hours later to realise my crossbow was missing from where I'd put it next to me when I sat down, to find that Lea had it, and had been sneakily prying arrows from my quiver whenever an Unversed had come along. "Sorry," he apologised, "you fell asleep just as an Unversed showed up. Your crossbow was just lying there, I knew summoning weapons made noise, and I didn't want to wake yo-"

"Stop trying to explain. You were holding down the fort while I was asleep. Thank you," I nodded. I looked at my watch. 7:45 AM. "We should start preparing for the trip back to Radiant Garden. I'll wake up Zack, shall I?"

"Go ahead, oh, and here's your crossbow, I'll use my chakrams now," Lea agreed, handing back my crossbow, which I put away immediately.

"If any Unversed come by, hit 'em hard!" I fist pumped once, before bursting into Zack's room. "WAKEY WAKEY," I yelled in his ear. "Fire," I laughed, holding a fireball above his face as he opened his eyes. "THE FIRE'S GONNA GET YOU IF YOU DON'T~!"

He blinked warily, suddenly very awake, before slipping out of the bed and away from the looming fireball. "Did you have to wake me up like that?"

"It worked, didn't it? Get ready, we're going soon," I told him, walking out of the room and into my own to get my stuff. I shut the door behind me, and took off my jacket, replacing it with my armour. I grabbed my bag, but not before sending away my quiver. I slung the bag over my back, made the bed, then left the room. I looked down at where Lea was sitting, keeping guard. "I'll take over until you guys are ready," I said. "Then we should go find that butler and thank him and his bosses for letting us stay."

"Agreed. Back in two minutes," Lea grinned, darting inside his room. I leant against the wall, and summoned my Keyblade. I examined the handle.

'_Maybe what Lea said would work…_' I thought to myself. I looked at the keychain hanging from the handle that gave the blade its form. '_It's unlikely… Maybe not…_'

An Unversed (a Flood) rounded the corner down the hall. I reacted by throwing my Keyblade at it, full force, in the only Keyblade manoeuvre I was really good at: A strike raid.

The Keyblade flew past the Unversed, clipping it hard on the antenna, then spun back like a boomerang, smacking the Flood in the back of the head before I caught my weapon again. The Flood's attention now gained, I darted over to it and smacked it as hard as I could. It vanished, dropping Munny. I picked it up and put it in my pocket, before wandering back to the rooms.

I sat down on the floor across from the boys' doors. Zack was the first to emerge. He shut his door and leant against it, one foot against the hard wooden surface. "So, we're going back to your base, then?"

"I suppose you could call it that," I smirked. "Radiant Garden's pretty damn cool, full of light. You'd like it."

"I hope so."

Lea exited his room.

"Ready to go, then?" He asked us.

"All set," I nodded, "Zack, you good to go?"

"Sure. Let's do this."

"Well, off we go, then."

….

~ABOUT AN HOUR LATER~

We touched down in Radiant Garden at about 9 AM. Zack looked at the castle in awe, as I concentrated on landing. Wouldn't want to stuff up like the last time I landed here. I slowed to a halt, hovering inches above the flowers in the Outer Gardens, avoiding the one citizen in the area. I went to get off the glider, before I heard a sharp cry.

"NO! DON'T STEP ON THE FLOWERS!"

I noticed Zack snap his head around to the voice the moment the girl cried out. "Aerith!"

"Zack! What are you doing here?" The brown haired girl asked, blinking.

"I could ask you the same thing…" He jumped off of the glider, clearing the flowers by about an inch as I steered the glider away from the flowerbed.

"Apparently, one of the firsts went crazy in Nibelheim and burned everything… I could sense his darkness flowing into the Lifestream, our world just… imploded. Those with strong hearts wound up here, I guess," 'Aerith' told him. "Who're your friends?"

I got off the glider, and Lea followed. I took off my helmet, offering my free hand for a shake. "I'm Pyra," I smiled.

She accepted the shake, getting up from her place by the flowers, her blue and white dress ruffling in the slight breeze. She turned to Lea. "And you?"

"Lea," He grinned as he banished his armour. He also held out his hand for a shake, which Aerith accepted.

"Wait, what do you mean the world imploded?" Zack and I made the connection at the exact same time. This was some serious shit.

"Shinra's Empire is gone. The darkness that lay waiting within was too great," she frowned, gently caressing a flower she'd picked.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay…" Zack smiled warmly, his face showing genuine concern. I realised that Lea and myself were probably a little out of place here.

"Lea," I said, deactivating my armour, "we should let Shiloh know we're back for now."

"Agreed," he nodded. Together, we left the Outer Gardens, heading in the direction of the house he called home.

….

~Zack~

As the others walked away, I realised there was something strangely familiar catching the morning sun just past the fountain. The light shone in my eyes, and I was forced to look away. "Hey, Aerith, you have a better angle than I do," I began, "is that a sculpture over there, or are my eyes telling the truth?"

"Zack…" she paused, frowning slightly. Aerith hardly ever frowned. "Zack, I'm sorry… Just… Don't freak out…"

Suddenly quite anxious, I moved a little, so the object was out of the glare of the sun. I gasped.

Jutting out of the ground in front of me was Angeal's sword.

"AWESOME!" I grinned. "Angeal's here! I wonder what he'll say when he sees how much I've improved!"

"Zack… That's why… That's why I didn't want you freaking out…" Aerith trailed off.

"What d'you mean?"

"He… He didn't make it, Zack. He went back to the Lifestream just before it ended. This was attached to the sword, it's got your name on it…" She held out a note to me. I did nothing; I just stood there.

How could Angeal, my teacher, my mentor, be gone?

Hesitantly, I took the note. I pulled it from the envelope, reading it slowly.

None of what I read sank in.

…

~Pyra~

"So, I think Zack might have been a bit of a hypocrite," Lea sniggered.

"Yeah, I agree," I nodded. "At least he knows the people we're looking for."

"Speaking of looking at stuff, I was gonna show you the library here, wasn't I?" Lea elbowed me gently, taking me by the wrist. I was reminded of the first time I was in the Outer Gardens; afterwards, he did just this, and led me in the direction of his and Shiloh's house. "You'll be really blown away, it's huge."

'_That's what she said, hah,_' I thought, before speaking. "Oh yeah? Prove it then!"

With grins on our faces, he led the way to the library, just like he led the way five days before. Except this time, he seemed stronger, prouder. A smidge quieter, but I guessed he must have been thinking. Quietly, I wondered what he was thinking of, but didn't interrupt his train of thought.

I hate when someone stops my train.

….

_-MEANWHILE-_

The purple haired young woman stared at the young librarian, chained and gagged deep under the library, hidden in a dark corner of the basement, amongst the archives. With a twitch of her pointed ears, she transformed into an exact likeness of the girl before her, clothes and all.

The librarian, her mousey hair trimmed to just below her ears, a pair of round spectacles perched upon her nose, tried to cry out, her voice greatly muffled by the material in her mouth. She squirmed and writhed in her bindings, desperately trying to escape.

"So, Reality, is it?" The shapeshifter asked, putting one foot on the edge of the chair the librarian was struggling to be free from. "Do people call you Ria from from time to time? Might work well for me, it's one of my nicknames." Her mouth curled up at the corners in a somewhat sinister smile. "Go on, shake your head, nod, whatever."

Reality nodded her head madly, so fiercely that her long, plaid skirt ruffled slightly beneath the chains as her entire body moved. It was a vigorous nod.

"Brilliant," the clone of sorts leaned a little closer, mimicking Reality's voice while grinning sadistically, taking the librarian's glasses with a flick of the wrist. "That'll do perfectly."

She removed her foot, taking a few steps back. She silently conjured a wind to move the paper surrounding the librarian about two feet away from the poor girl, then forged an invisible but soundproof barrier around her. With a snap of her fingers, she set the librarian ablaze, and watched as she writhed in her chains. Within about ten seconds, the intensity of the flames killed the girl, who had no resistance to magic, and a little while later, all that remained was a charred pile of ash.

"Pity you had to die," the new Reality sneered, scattering the ashes around the room like regular dust, the assassin masking the odor of burnt flesh with the sharp smell of the lavender essence she carried for just such reasons. "Oh well. It's not like you'll be missed too badly. Technically, you're not even gone."

With a smirk, she whirled on her heel and headed for the stairs back up to the library.

"The race is on, Vanitas," she mused, putting on the spectacles, "Pyra and her friends are _my_ kill."

….

~Pyra~

"Well, here we are," Lea grinned, waving his hand at the large, rectangular building. "The library."

"It's MASSIVE," I gawked, before quickly doing a scan of my surroundings. No Unversed lying in wait. Everything seemed saf-

"Hey there!" came a sharp, loud, young voice from behind us. I flinched, whirling on my toes. Standing before me was a young girl, about ten, dressed like a young ninja, silver ribbon wrapped around her forehead under her short black fringe. Her green and yellow attire nearly made me laugh.

"Well hi," I smirked. "Looking for someone? Something?"

"Nope! I've come for your materia!" She grinned, then she was suddenly behind me, digging through my bag.

"HEY! Get outta there, that ain't yours!" I snapped, thrashing a little, bucking the girl off. This girl wasn't just an actual ninja, but a thief!

"And what the hell's a materia?" Lea asked, grabbing the girl by the hood of her wrap around.

"STOP STALLING, I know you have some SOMEWHERE," She karate chopped Lea's wrist, before attacking my bag again. I pushed her back, holding her at arm's length.

"Stop attacking us, maybe we can help without you trying to pinch our stuff," I scolded, an eyebrow raised.

"THE GREAT NINJA YUFFIE SHOWS NO MERCY!" She cried, attempting to tackle me. I sidestepped, and took her by the hood as Lea had done before. I quickly spared a glance at him. His wrist was red, and he was rubbing it gently.

"Yeah, well, the phoenix warrior Pyra doesn't take no for an answer. Stop attacking us!"

"I want… my materia…" the girl Yuffie whined, before struggling free and sprinting away.

There was a long silence, before either of us spoke. "Well, that was weird," I shrugged, turning back to the library, and searching my bag. All of my weapons were still there. All of my Munny was still there. "Back to business then!"

"Phoenix warrior Pyra?" Lea smirked. "Sounds like a cartoon superhero. Superman, Wonder Woman, the Incredible Flash, the Mighty Phoenix…"

"Oh, shut up," I laughed, elbowing him, "I had to think of something. My fave mythical creature would do. How's the wrist?"

"Fine. A bit red, but otherwise fine," he nodded, "shall we go then?"

"Indeed we shall," I agreed, and we went to enter the library.

We were met at the door by a girl, maybe sixteen, dressed very properly. She was in a long, plaid skirt and an argyle patterned vest, worn over the top of a pristine white shirt. Upon her nose sat a pair of spectacles, and her mousey brown hair seemed to be the only part of her that was even semi unkempt, trimmed to just below her chin, small tufts sticking up about five centimetres above either ear.

"Hello, are you coming to borrow something?" She asked.

"Hm? Nah, we're just here so I can show her how much stuff this library has," Lea grinned, gesturing towards me. "She's never actually been here, would you believe?"

"Really? Are you not a library person, then?" The girl asked.

"No, no, I love reading," I nodded, ad-libbing. "I just never realised there was a library here, is all."

"Well, if you want, I could show you around?" She grinned, gesturing that I follow her.

"Sure, as long as Lea can come too, I guess. I'm Pyra, by the way," I told her.

"Nice to meet you Pyra, Lea, It's a pleasure. I'm Reality. Call me Ria."

"Reality, huh? That's an unusual name," I noted.

"Only as unusual as you want it to be," she grinned, turning to the library. "Now come on in, choose your poison."

...

~_MEANWHILE~_

The boy wandered down the unfamiliar streets, scratching at his neck warmer. He was used to slightly cooler weather, and his Shin-Ra infantry uniform wasn't helping. At all.

He mutely wondered if anyone else from his world had wound up where he did.

Wherever that was.

He scanned the world for something, anything: A familiar face, objects from home, anything.

There was nothing.

Not one member of the Shin-Ra infantry. Not one friend from Nibelheim.

Not that anyone from Nibelheim would be around anymore anyway. Not after what Sephiroth did. Not his mother. Not his next door neighbour.

Not Tifa.

With a sigh, he walked through the square and through a gate. It looked like the way to leave town. There wouldn't be much of a point staying if he didn't know anyone. When he joined the infantry a few months earlier, it was different. He was in a place where he could dream of becoming a SOLDIER. Dream of being able to go home to Nibelheim one day, look Tifa in the eye, and say, 'Look, I became a 1st. You proud?'

In the distance, he could see a fountain. There were two figures by it, one standing, one crouched. He squinted.

No, the crouched figure was two people, one was hugging the other from behind as if to comfort them. The standing figure was, when looked at properly, the sword of the SOLDIER 1st class Angeal.

Then he realised he knew the SOLDIER by the sword. Not the girl giving him a hug, but the SOLDIER.

Zack.

He moved to go greet him, but was stopped by a voice from behind him. "Cloud?"

The blonde boy whirled around to see a girl dressed in a brown outfit, her black hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck.

"Tifa?" He gasped. "You're alive?"

"Yeah... One moment, Nibelheim was burning, the next... I woke up here in the middle of the night," the girl explained, rubbing her head. She looked at the boy, her brown eyes relieved. "I'm glad at least you and me made it."

"Yeah... I don't think everyone was as lucky," Cloud could hardly talk, he was that relieved.

"Reality really sucks sometimes, doesn't it?" Tifa groaned.

"Yeah," Cloud agreed. "It does."


End file.
